Consumer products giant Procter & Gamble said today that income before restructuring-related items rose 9.4 per cent in its fiscal third quarter as favorable pricing and product mix offset a 3 per cent decline in unit shipment volume.
The maker of Tide laundry detergent and Crest toothpaste said core earnings, which exclude restructuring items, rose to $1.01 billion from $923 million lastyear.
P&G said it expects April-June unit volume to be flat to up 2 per cent, with net sales excluding exchange effects growing in the low single digits.
In March, P&G said it would cut an additional 9,000 jobs, adding on to 15,000 job cuts it had announced in 1999, as it tries to rein in costs.
In recent months, the company has been trying to recover from mistakes such as price increases that cost it market share and spending on new products that never caught on in the market.
P&G shares closed at $60.05 on Wall Street yesterday. P&G has under performed the blue chip index by 25 per cent since the beginning of the year.