Procter & Gamble boosts income on snack sale

AP

(AP) CINCINNATI - Procter & Gamble's (PG) net income climbed 45 percent in its fiscal fourth quarter, boosted by the sale of its snacks division. But revenue slipped, hurt by the stronger dollar and high commodity costs.

The Cincinnati-based company also said Friday that it plans to buy back $4 billion in shares this fiscal year.

Its shares rose $1.08, or 1.7 percent, to $64.59 in premarket trading.

The maker of Tide detergent, Crest toothpaste and other consumer goods said that its net income rose to $3.63 billion, or $1.24 per share in the April-to-June quarter. That includes 48 cents per share from the sale of its snacks business.

Excluding one-time items, it earned 82 cents per share, beating analysts' expectations of 77 cents per share.

Revenue edged down 1 percent to $20.21 billion, slightly below analyst expectations of $20.26 billion.

For this fiscal year, the company expects its core earnings per share excluding restructuring charges of $3.80 to $4. Analysts expect $3.92 per share.

P&G is trying to balance growth in emerging markets, which make up about 30 percent of its sales, with the realities of an uncertain global economy and lackluster market share growth.

The pressure is on since activist investor William Ackman disclosed a 1 percent stake in the company earlier this month. Ackman has agitated for change at companies including Target Corp. and J.C. Penney.