P&G Slips as Rising Costs Counter Robust Health-Care Demand
- Organic sales growth, earnings exceed analyst expectations
- Forecast for commodity, freight costs raised to $2.3 billion
P&G’s cold and flu products could get a boost during the upcoming flu season.
Photographer: Daniel Acker/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Procter & Gamble Co.’s brisk sales in its latest quarter weren’t enough to overcome rising commodity and freight costs that are eroding profitability.
The maker of Downy fabric softener and Puffs facial tissues announced Wednesday that it expects $2.3 billion in after-tax expenses this fiscal year from elevated commodity and freight costs -- an increase from the prior expectation of $1.9 billion. Gross margin in the company’s fiscal first quarter also fell short of expectations, outweighing organic sales and profit that beat estimates from Wall Street.