Procter & Gamble Co.'s fiscal first-quarter results beat Wall Street's view as it controlled expenses and saw solid sales growth in its health care segment.
Shares of the maker of Tide detergent and Charmin toilet paper gained more than 2 per cent before the market open today.
P&G has been working on transforming its business to better focus on bigger brands with growth potential. The company has already shed some of the smaller brands it says collectively contribute little to its operating profit.
Chairman, President and CEO David Taylor said in a written statement today that the company is "now focusing all our efforts on 10 large, structurally attractive categories where P&G holds leading positions."
P&G, the world's largest consumer products maker, earned USD 2.71 billion, or 96 cents per share, for the period ended September 30. A year ago the Cincinnati-based company earned USD 2.6 billion, or 91 cents per share.
Earnings, adjusted to account for discontinued operations and restructuring costs, were USD 1.03 per share. That topped the 98 cents per share that analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research expected.
Revenue was basically flat at USD 16.52 billion. Analysts polled by Zacks expected revenue of USD 16.45 billion.
Sales for the health care unit climbed 4 per cent, while sales for the fabric and home care division edged up 1 per cent.
For fiscal 2017, P&G still expects adjusted earnings per share growth of mid-single digits compared with fiscal 2016's earnings of USD 3.67 per share. Analysts polled by FactSet predict earnings of USD 3.88 per share.
Its shares rose USD 2.05, or 2.4 per cent, to USD 86.15 in premarket trading before the market opened.
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