Earnings Preview: P&G declines expected

NEW YORK (AP) ? Procter & Gamble Co.'s fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report before the market opens Friday should give investors the latest on how the world's largest consumer product maker's retooled international growth plans are faring. Analysts expect lower net income and revenue from the company.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: The Cincinnati-based company, the maker of products from Tide detergent to Crest toothpaste and Gillette razors, 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.

In May, the company said it was rethinking overseas expansion and would focus on its biggest and most profitable markets abroad. Investors will be looking for an update on that strategy.

The company is also in the midst of a cost-cutting program aimed at saving $10 billion by fiscal 2016. And after raising prices to offset higher commodity costs, the company announced last quarter it would roll back some prices, so investors will also want an update on that.

Investors will be particularly interested in what P&G has to say about improving net income since activist investor William Ackman disclosed a 1 percent stake in the company earlier this month. He has agitated for change at companies including Target Corp. and J.C. Penney.

WHY IT MATTERS: P&G's well-known products appeal to people at many income levels around the world, so the company's performance hints at how willing and able people are to spend globally.

Its status at the top of the consumer-goods hierarchy also means P&G's strategy can be a bellwether for the rest of the industry.

EXPECTATIONS: Analysts polled by FactSet expect P&G to report earnings of 77 cents per share and revenue of $20.26 billion for the January-through-March period, on average.

LAST YEAR: In the same period a year ago, P&G earned 84 cents per share on revenue of $20.86 billion.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/earnings-preview-p-g-declines-expected-191415948--finance.html

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