Procter shrinks to grow

Article Excerpt

PROCTER & GAMBLE CO. $83 (New York symbol PG; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 2.7 billion; Market cap: $224.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.9; Dividend yield: 3.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.pg.comtarget=”_blank”) plans to sell just over half of its brands over the next two years. That will let the company focus on its 70 to 80 most popular products, which together account for over 90% of its sales. These include 25 global brands, such as Head & Shoulders shampoo, Gillette razors, Tide detergent and Pampers diapers, that each generate over $1 billion in annual sales. Meanwhile, Procter’s sales rose 0.6% in its 2014 fiscal year, which ended June 30, 2014, to $83.1 billion from $82.6 billion in fiscal 2013. Higher sales volumes (up 3%) and selling prices (up 1%) offset the negative impacts of currency exchange rates (down 2%) and low-margin products (down 1%). Before writedowns and unusual items, earnings rose 5.0%, to $4.22 a share from $4.02. The company will…