NEW YORK (AP) — Procter & Gamble Co. said Friday that its net income climbed 45 percent in its fiscal fourth quarter, boosted by the sale of its snacks division. But the world's largest consumer product maker's revenue slipped, as price increases were offset by the stronger dollar.
The maker of Tide detergent, Crest toothpaste and other consumer goods also said Friday that it plans to buy back $4 billion in shares this fiscal year. That's a reversal from June, when the company said it did not plan any share repurchases.
Its shares rose $1.23, or 1.9 percent, to $64.74 in premarket trading.
P&G is trying to balance growth in emerging markets, which make up about 30 percent of its sales, with the realities of an uncertain global economy and lackluster market share growth.
Its global market share was down half a percentage point during the quarter, and overall market share was flat or higher in one-third of P&G's categories. That has improved to 45 percent in the current quarter, helped by raising prices in some areas and lowering them in others.
The pressure is on since activist investor William Ackman disclosed last month taking a 1 percent stake in the company. Ackman has agitated for change at companies including Target Corp. and J.C. Penney. In a call with the media, P&G executives said they are having a dialogue with Ackman's Pershing Square like the company does with all of its investors, but those discussions are confidential.
After raising prices to offset higher commodity costs, P&G last quarter said would roll back some prices. The company said rollbacks in some categories like powdered detergents in the U.S. and its blades and razors business have helped those categories regain some lost market share.
Net income rose to $3.63 billion, or $1.24 per share in the April-to-June quarter, up from $2.51 billion, or 84 cents per share last year. That includes 48 cents per share from the sale of its snacks business.
Excluding that benefit and restructuring costs, it earned 82 cents per share, beating analysts' expectations of 77 cents per share.
Revenue slipped to $20.21 billion from $20.45 billion last year, slightly below analyst expectations of $20.26 billion. The stronger dollar hurt revenue by 4 percentage points, offsetting the benefit of higher pricing, which helped revenue by 4 percentage points. But revenue excluding acquisitions or selling businesses and some instances of foreign exchange, a figure known as organic sales, rose 3 percent.
For the July to September quarter, P&G expects adjusted net income of 91 cents to 97 cents per share on revenue that is down 4 to 6 percent. That implies revenue of $20.6 billion to $21.04 billion. Analysts expect net income of $1.02 per share on revenue of $21.24 billion.
For this fiscal year, the Cincinnati-based company expects core earnings per share excluding restructuring charges of $3.80 to $4 on revenue that is flat to down 2 percent, implying revenue of $82 billion to $83.68 billion. Analysts expect net income of $3.92 per share on revenue of $84.7 billion.