Consumer Staples Disappoint This Week

The world’s largest consumer products maker, Procter & Gamble Co and American household goods and personal products leader Colgate-Palmolive Co have both seen their shares dip on quarterly results this week as sales numbers fell short of forecasts.

Last week, European-based Unilever and Nestle  both posted better-than-expected sales numbers and noted improved pricing dynamics, yet saw their results weighed down by cautious spending in the U.S. and Western Europe. Unilever, the London-based consumer goods leader and the world’s largest food company, relied largely on emerging markets in the recent quarter.

Procter & Gamble

Shares of Cincinnati-based P&G slipped Wednesday after the company posted earnings that surpassed bottom-line estimates yet failed to meet top-line forecasts. The global consumer products giant posted fiscal third-quarter adjusted earnings of $0.96 per share, up 12% over last year and higher than the Street’s forecasts for $0.94. In the period ended March 31, P&G saw sales slip 1% year over year (YOY) to $15.61 billion, while organic sales increase 1%. P&G’s grooming business, which sells Gillette razors, was the only segment to show a decline in organic sales last quarter.

“The third quarter macro environment was characterized by a slowdown in market growth, continued geopolitical disruptions and foreign exchange challenges,” stated Chief Executive officer (CEO) David Tyler.

Colgate-Palmolive

Shares of the New York City-based personal care and household products company are down about 1.8% on Friday morning at a price of $72.01 per share on mixed Q1 results. Colgate-Palmolive reported adjusted profit of $0.67 per share on revenue of $3.76 billion, compared to expected earnings of $0.66 per share on revenue of $3.8 billion. The toothpaste maker posted global volumes down 2%, with pricing up 2.5% and a foreign exchange impact of negative 0.5%. Organic sales up just 0.5% were dragged down by a 5.5% decline in North America, offset partially by strength in emerging markets where organic sales grew 3%.

Management lowered full-year 2017 guidance, attributing outlook to uncertainty in global markets and slowing category growth.

“Based on our slow start to the year, we now expect organic sales growth for 2017 to be modestly below our 4%-7% range with sequential improvement throughout the year,” stated CEO Ian Cook.