By Cliff Peale
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Rising sales in developing markets such as China and Russia are driving Procter & Gamble Co. to growth that could give it $50 billion in sales this calendar year.

PAMPERS LEADS

Pampers has become Procter & Gamble Co.'s first $5 billion brand. (P&G has 13 brands with at least $1 billion in sales.) Deb Henretta, president of global baby care at P&G, promised more growth at Pampers. The latest innovation will come this summer when P&G introduces its Feel & Learn diaper. The training pant will feature a new liner that actually lets a toddler feel wetness for about 1 minute to promote toilet training.

The maker of staple brands including Tide, Folgers and Pantene earned $1.53 billion, or $1.09 per share, during the third quarter ended March 31, it said Friday. Sales were $13.03 billion.

The numbers grew in every category, with profits up 20 percent, sales up 22 percent and unit volume, or the number of products sold, up 20 percent.

All five P&G businesses increased sales, profits and volume, and all of P&G's major countries showed growth. Out of P&G's 20 biggest brands, 19 increased volume, with only Charmin bath tissue remaining flat.

P&G shares closed at $105.75, down 22 cents.

The report continued P&G's hot streak, with nine consecutive quarters of beating its sales and profit targets. In March, it hiked its annual stock dividend 9.9 percent and announced a 2-for-1 stock split, effective in June.

Last year, P&G's sales totaled $43.38 billion. Among the key drivers of the healthy growth are developing markets that continue to generate increasingly strong sales.

China leads the way, but markets such as Russia, Southeast Asia and Latin America are posting double-digit sales gains, chairman and chief executive A.G. Lafley told Wall Street investors.

"While China is a rocket, we're doing very well in all of our developing markets," he said after the early-morning earnings announcement.

P&G credited:

• Making more products in the country where they are sold.

• Riding out currency and political volatility.

• Developing products priced for mid-tier consumers.

• Hiring natives to run operations in their home countries.

E-mail cpeale@enquirer.com