Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) reported second-quarter fiscal 2020 results before markets opened Thursday. The consumer products maker posted adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.42 on revenues of $18.24 billion. In the same period a year ago, the company reported EPS of $1.25 on revenues of $17.44 billion. Second-quarter results also compare to consensus estimates for EPS of $1.37 and $18.37 billion in revenues.
EPS improved by 13.6% year over year in the quarter, and sales rose by 5%. Gross margins were by 2% and operating profits were up 1.9%. On a currency-neutral basis, EPS rose by 15%.
P&G’s revenue increase was attributed to higher organic shipment volume, increased pricing and “disproportionate organic growth” in the company’s health care and skin and personal care categories where average selling prices are higher than company averages.
CEO David Taylor commented:
Our strong first half results enable us to further increase our outlook for the full fiscal year across each of these metrics and to increase our commitment of cash return to shareowners. Our focus remains on executing our strategies of superiority, productivity, constructive disruption and improving P&G’s organization and culture to deliver balanced top-line and bottom-line growth along with strong cash generation in a challenging competitive and macroeconomic environment.
The company revised its outlook for total sales growth from a prior range of 3% to 5% to a new one of 4% to 5%. The outlook for organic sales growth was increased by a similar amount. Adjusted EPS guidance was raised from 5% to 10% to a new range of 8% to 11% above 2019 totals. P&G also expects to pay more than $7.5 billion in dividends and buy back some $7 billion to $8 billion of common shares in fiscal 2020.
Analysts have forecast full fiscal year EPS of $4.94, an increase of about 9.3% compared with fiscal 2019, and sales of $70.63 billion, up about 4.4% year over year. For the fiscal third quarter, consensus estimates call for EPS of $1.11 and sales of $16.98 billion.
The company’s share price has risen by more than a third over the past 12 months, even including an $8 billion charge against its Gillette razor business last summer. In the first few weeks of 2020, shares traded up about 2.3%. That’s a pretty good share price bump, if P&G could keep it up for the entire year, but it probably would fall short of the current analyst consensus.
Procter & Gamble stock traded down about 2% in Thursday’s premarket session to $123.75, after closing Wednesday at $126.31. The stock’s 52-week range is $92.97 to $127.00, and the consensus 12-month price target is $128.35. The company’s dividend yield is 2.37%.
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