Procter & Gamble Backs FY19 Core EPS Growth Outlook; Q3 Results Top View

(RTTNews) - While reporting financial results for the third quarter, consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) on Tuesday maintained its full-year 2019 guidance for earnings per share and core earnings per share growth, while raising its outlook for all-in sales growth and organic sales growth for the year.

For fiscal 2019, the company continues to expect all-in earnings per share to increase 17 to 24 percent and core earnings per share to increase 3 to 8 percent.

However, the company now estimates full year all-in sales growth in the range of in-line to up one percent, compared to the previous growth projection range of down 1 percent to up 1 percent.

The company also increased its organic sales growth outlook to a solid 4 percent, compared to the prior range of 2 to 4 percent.

On average, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the company to report earnings of $4.45 per share on sales growth of 0.60 percent to $67.20 billion for the year. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Additionally, the company expects to pay over $7 billion in dividends and repurchase approximately $5 billion of common shares in fiscal 2019.

For the first quarter, the company reported that net earnings per share grew 9 percent to $1.04 from $0.95 last year. Core earnings per share were $1.06, compared to $1.00 last year, driven primarily by the increase in net sales and a lower effective tax rate. Currency-neutral core earnings per share increased 15 percent for the quarter.

Net sales for the quarter grew 1 percent to $16.5 billion from a year ago. Unfavorable foreign exchange hurt sales by 5 percent for the quarter. Excluding the impacts of foreign exchange, acquisitions and divestitures, organic sales increased 5 percent driven by a 2 percent increase in organic shipment volume.

Analysts expected the company to report earnings of $1.03 per share on sales of $16.34 billion for the quarter.