(Reuters) -Tide detergent maker Procter & Gamble Co raised its full-year sales forecast on Thursday on the back of increased prices, even as it warned of high commodity costs pressuring profits.
P&G, like other consumer goods companies, has implemented multiple price increases over the last few months to cover soaring transportation, commodity and labor costs, as well as the impact of a stronger U.S. dollar on its overseas revenue.
While the price hikes have been met with less pushback compared to those in discretionary products that customers have largely shunned, sales volumes for P&G have still dipped. The company reported a 6% fall in second-quarter overall volumes.
Average prices across its product categories, which include brands such as Gillette and Pampers, rose 10% in the second quarter ended Dec. 31.
The company said it expects fiscal 2023 total sales to range between flat and a 1% drop, compared with its previous forecast of a 1% to 3% fall, but maintained its annual earnings forecast of flat to up 4%, citing elevated commodity costs.
The company’s shares fell about 1% to $143.93 in premarket trading.
P&G said net sales fell 1% to $20.77 billion in the reported quarter, compared with analysts’ average estimate of $20.73 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
The company’s earnings per share of $1.59 was in line with analysts’ average estimate.
(Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
