Procter & Gamble Co reported a better-than-expected rise in quarterly profit, boosted by cost-cutting and higher selling prices.

However, sales declined for the seventh quarter in a row as P&G shrinks its vast product portfolio to focus on faster-growing brands such as Pampers diapers and Gillette.

The company, whose shares were up slightly in premarket trading, said its cost of goods sold fell by 11 per cent to $7.92 billion (€70.1 million), while it raised prices by an average of 1 per cent in the third quarter ended March 31st.

P&G said it now expects full-year core earnings to fall 3-6 per cent, compared with the decline of 3-8 per cent decline it had estimated in January.

The company expects organic sales to be driven more by volume than pricing in the next two to four quarters, chief financial officer Jon Moeller said on a media call.

P&G’s third-quarter net revenue fell 7 per cent to $15.76 billion, including a 5 percentage point negative impact from foreign exchange.

Excluding acquisitions, divestitures and currency movements, sales rose 1 percent.

Net income attributable to P&G jumped to $2.75 billion, or 97 cents per share, from $2.15 billion, or 75 cents per share.

Excluding items, the company earned 86 cents per share.

Analysts on average had expected earnings of 82 cents per share and revenue of $15.81 billion, according to Thomson Reuters.

Reuters