Procter & Gamble fiscal 2Q profit jumps

CINCINNATI — Procter & Gamble said Friday that its fiscal second quarter net income more than doubled and boosted its profit outlook as the maker of Tide and Pampers took back market share.

The increases are good news for the world’s largest consumer products maker, which has had to win back business lost to competitors, in some cases because it raised prices too much.

For the October-through-December quarter, the world’s largest consumer products maker earned $4.06 billion, or $1.39 per share, up from $1.69 billion, or 57 cents per share, in the same quarter last year.

Excluding items, it earned $1.22 per share. Revenue increased 2 percent to $22.18 billion.

Analysts polled by FactSet expected earnings of $1.11 per share on $21.86 billion in revenue.

The company said it held or increased its market share in businesses representing nearly 50 percent of the recent quarter’s sales. In the U.S. market, that figure increased to 60 percent of sales.

Based on its better-than-expected results for the first half of the year, the Cincinnati-based company said it now expects fiscal 2013 core earnings of $3.97 to $4.07 per share on revenue growth of 1 percent to 2 percent. It previously predicted an adjusted profit of $3.80 to $4 on flat revenue growth to up to 1 percent.

The new sales growth prediction implies fiscal 2013 sales of between $84.52 billion and $85.35 billion. Analysts expect earnings of $3.97 per share on $84.25 billion in sales.

For the current quarter, the company projected core earnings of 91 cents to 97 cents per share and sales growth of 3 percent to 4 percent. Based on the company’s results last year, the projection implies third-quarter sales of $20.8 billion to $21 billion.

Analysts expect a profit of 95 cents per share on $20.62 billion in sales.

Procter & Gamble Co. shares rose $1.06, or 2 percent, to $71.48 in premarket trading.