P&G’s beauty and grooming sales rise

CINCINNATI While the big news to come out of Procter & Gamble’s second-quarter results was the spin-off of its coffee business, it should not go unnoticed that such beauty brands as Fusion, Head & Shoulders and Nice ‘N Easy helped drive sales and delivered double-digit volume growth.

Total sales for the quarter rose 9 percent to $21.6 billion from $19.7 billion in the year-ago period. Net earnings totaled $3.3 billion, or 98 cents per diluted share, compared with $2.9 billion, or 84 cents, in the year-ago period.

Operating margin was down slightly versus the year-ago period as a reduction in overhead spending as a percent of sales was more than offset by higher commodity and energy costs.

Beauty net sales rose 10 percent to $5.1 billion, and organic sales rose 5 percent. Skin care volume rose in the high-single digits behind Olay Definity and Regenerist. Hair care volume was up by low-single digits as strong results on Head & Shoulders were partially offset by softness in professional hair care. Net earnings in beauty were up 10 percent to $883 million.

Grooming net sales rose 9 percent to $2.2 billion behind 7 percent volume growth. Blades and razors volume was up by double-digits, led by double-digit developing region growth behind the expansion of Fusion. Net earnings in grooming were up 11 percent for the quarter to $429 million.