Big restructuring is now paying off

Article Excerpt

PROCTER & GAMBLE CO. $77 (New York symbol PG; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 2.7 billion; Market cap: $207.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.5; Dividend yield: 2.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.pg.com) is one of the world’s largest makers of household and personal-care products. Its top brands include Tide detergent, Crest toothpaste, Head & Shoulders shampoo and Pampers diapers. The company faces rising competition from generic brands. Last year, it responded with a major restructuring plan, which mainly involves cutting 5% of its workforce and closing plants. The company expects severance and other costs to total $3.5 billion over the next five years. However, these moves should cut its costs by $10 billion over the same period. In its fiscal 2013 second quarter, which ended December 31, 2012, Procter’s earnings jumped 140.0%, to $4.1 billion, or $1.39 a share. A year earlier, it earned $1.7 billion, or $0.56 a share. If you disregard restructuring costs and other one-time items,…