Procter & Gamble Co's quarterly sales fell below Wall Street estimates on Tuesday, as the consumer products company had a disappointing performance at its grooming unit that makes Gillette razors and shaving products.
Shares of Procter & Gamble fell 2% before the bell.
The company cut prices on products in the grooming business by 3% to claw back market share lost to upstarts such as Dollar Shave Club. Sales in the unit fell 1% to $1.65 billion, while volumes dropped 1%.
Cut Down
A shrinking market in the Middle East, Africa and Latin America region hurt revenue at its Baby, Feminine & Family Care business, leading to a 2% drop in sales at the unit - its second biggest contributor to revenue.
For fiscal 2019, P&G said it sees organic sales rising 2-3% and core earnings per share growth of 3-8%.
At the midpoint of the range, fiscal 2019 core earnings per share is $4.45, above the average analyst estimate of $4.39, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Net income attributable to the company fell to $1.89 billion, or 72 cents per share, in the fourth quarter ended June 30, compared with $2.22 billion, or 82 per share, a year earlier.
Excluding items, P&G earned 94 cents per share, ahead of analysts' estimates of 90 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Net sales rose 2.6% to $16.50 billion. Analysts had forecast sales of $16.54 billion.
News by Reuters, edited by Checkout. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
