Outlook brightens for P&G

Article Excerpt

PROCTER & GAMBLE CO. $88 (New York symbol PG; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 2.5 billion; Market cap: $220.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.4; Dividend yield: 3.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.pg.com) is one of the world’s largest makers of household and personal-care goods. For its second quarter, ended December 31, 2017, Procter’s sales rose 3.2%, to $17.4 billion from $16.9 billion a year earlier. If you disregard businesses that the company has bought and sold in the past year—along with foreign exchange rates—sales improved 2%. Higher demand for the company’s beauty products (including Olay skin cream and Head & Shoulders shampoo) as well as its Tide laundry detergent and other fabric-care products offset weaker sales of its grooming products (including Gillette razor blades). Due to recent U.S. tax reforms, Procter recorded a one-time charge of $628 million in the latest quarter. However, if you again disregard all unusual items, earnings rose 7.4%, to $3.17 billion from $2.96 billion a year earlier…