Procter & Gamble lifts sales forecast after price hikes and Covid demand for cleaning products
Consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble hiked its annual sales forecast on Wednesday after a surge in Covid infections led to an invigorated demand for cleaning supplies.
It marked a six per cent leap in quarterly sales, beating expectations.
The company, which owns household brands such as Head & Shoulders and Ariel, reported its fabric and home care division saw a seven per cent sales jump in the second quarter.
Surging Covid cases and fears over a new virus variant Omicron saw consumers reach for detergents and surface cleaning products, in a boost to P&G revenue.
Organic sales in the company’s personal health care business also saw an increase, with a demand for respiratory products in an intense flu season driving a 20 per cent jump .
However, its share price was down by almost two per cent on Wednesday following a bigger-than-previously forecast increase in annual freight and commodity costs.
P&G reported its overall net sales rose to $20.95bn (£15.4bn). It credited price hikes that were introduced last year to tackle higher operational costs.
Analysts on average had expected sales of $20.34 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
The Gillette razor maker said it expected fiscal 2022 organic sales to rise four per cent to five per cent, compared with its prior forecast of a two per cent to four per cent increase.