BY RANDY TUCKER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Procter & Gamble Co. said Thursday that fiscal first-quarter sales increased a marginal 2 percent, reflecting economic troubles in Asia, Russia and Latin America.
But P&G's earnings for the three-month period that ended Sept. 30 rose more than 7 percent, exceeding many analysts' expectations. "We delivered solid earnings this quarter, despite the difficult global economic situation," P&G Chairman and CEO John Pepper said.
For the quarter, net income grew to $1.17 billion, or 80 cents per share, compared with net income of $1.09 billion, or 73 cents per share, a year earlier.
Total sales increased to $9.51 billion from $9.36 billion. In September, P&G warned that first-quarter earnings could be hurt by slowing economies in emerging markets, leading many analysts to lower their earnings estimates.
Peter Swan of Olde Discount Corp. in Detroit was one of those. "We had them (P&G) at 77 cents a share," Mr. Swan said. "But P&G's done a good job with its cost-cutting measures."
P&G shares rose $3.18 3/4 to $87 Thursday.
