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The
company's shares rose 1% before the opening bell after the
Cincinnati-based conglomerate also said it would buy back up to
$10 billion worth of shares in fiscal 2021, compared to $7
billion to $9 billion it expected earlier.
Households have continued to clean their homes and wash their
clothes more frequently and have also shown their willingness to
pay for more premium brands over store-branded goods at a time
when COVID-19 cases and deaths continue to rise in the United
States, P&G's biggest market.
Shoppers splurged on everything from Downy laundry beads to
Swiffer mops and surface cleaners, the company said, sending
organic sales in its fabric and home care division up 12% in the
second quarter.
Home care products in particular saw a 30% rise in organic
sales, in line with trends seen in the first quarter.
Overall, net sales rose 8% to $19.75 billion in the three months
to Dec. 31, beating analysts' average estimate of $19.27
billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
Net income attributable to P&G rose 4% to $3.85 billion, or
$1.47 per share. Excluding items, it earned $1.64 per share.
Expecting an upswing in consumption, the company raised its
fiscal 2021 sales growth forecast to a range of 5% to 6%,
compared with 3% to 4% expected earlier.
It also hiked its core earnings per share growth forecast to 8%
to 10%, from 5% to 8%, and said organic sales are now expected
to grow 5% to 6%, compared with the 4% to 5% it anticipated
earlier for the year.
(Reporting by Siddharth Cavale and Uday Sampath in Bengaluru;
Editing by Maju Samuel)
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