Procter & Gamble Co. is earning money again in all of its top 20 countries.

        That includes a recovery in western Europe, driven by England and France, and strong growth in Russia and China, the head of P&G's global Market Development Organizations said Friday.

        But P&G operations in Japan and Germany, while profitable this year, still are well below the company's expectations, said Kerry Clark, head of Global Market Development and Business Operations.

        P&G has “pretty much eliminated those hot spots where we were losing money,” said Mr. Clark, who was just named one of P&G's new vice chairmen.

        Earning money in big countries is a sign that the Market Development Organizations, or MDOs, formed three years ago, finally have reached peak efficiency and are starting to pay off in Procter's bottom-line results.

        P&G chief executive A.G. Lafley has said the market groups, which put a manager in every country, are the part of P&G's restructuring with the greatest potential to cut costs and spark growth.

        By mid-2003, the seven MDOs will have completed a downsizing that already is pretty much done in North America, Mr. Clark said. He would not specify the number of jobs eliminated.

        Established by former Procter chief executive Durk Jager in 1999, the MDOs allow closer ties to local customers and consumers. The North American MDO is based in Cincinnati.

        They interact with Global Business Units, like beauty care or fabric and home care, which manage their businesses around the world.

        P&G's main turnaround effort has been in western Europe, which accounts for about 20 percent of total sales. After declining results for two years, that MDO will grow volume, sales and profits this year, Mr. Clark said.

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