Procter & Gamble Co, the maker of Tide detergent and Gillette shaving products, reported better-than-expected quarterly sales and profit, helped by strong demand for its baby, feminine and home care products.

The company also forecast a roughly 2 per cent increase in net sales in the year ending June 2017, excluding its Venezuela operations, and the impact from acquisitions, divestitures and foreign exchange.

P&G said it expected adjusted earnings to rise in the mid-single digits in percentage terms in fiscal 2017. The company reported adjusted earnings of $3.67 this year. The company has been selling unprofitable brands and focusing on core brands such as Gillette, Pampers and Tide to revive sluggish sales growth, which analysts have blamed on the company’s slow reaction to trends in key markets such as China. It is also reducing supply chain, marketing and overhead expenses by cutting jobs and shutting factories, among other measures.

Net sales in the fourth quarter ended June 30 fell 2.7 per cent to $16.1 billion, down for the eighth straight quarter, but beat the average analyst estimate of $15.83 billion. Excluding items, the company earned 79 cents per share, beating the average analyst estimate of 74 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Net income attributable to the company rose to $1.95 billion or 69 cents per share in the fourth quarter ended June 30, from $521 million, or 18 cents per share, a year earlier.

The year-ago profit had been hurt by a charge from taking the company’s Venezuelan business off its books.

Reuters