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P&G matches 2Q estimates
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January 25, 2000: 1:48 p.m. ET
Sales rise; shares continue to rebound after acquisition talks are terminated
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Procter & Gamble Co. posted Tuesday fiscal second-quarter earnings that matched analysts' expectations, pleasing Wall Street a day after the consumer products maker called off talks to acquire two drug makers.
The maker of Tide detergent, Scope mouthwash and Oil of Olay cosmetics earned $1.3 billion, or 88 cents per diluted share, excluding one-time items, a 13 percent increase over the year-earlier quarter.
The company did not provide specific comparisons for the 1998 quarter because of an accounting change.
Including $137 million in one-time charges associated with a restructuring program, P&G earned $1.13 billion, or 78 cents per diluted share, in the quarter ended Dec. 31.
Sales rose 7 percent to $10.59 billion.
P&G (PG) stock, a component of the Dow industrial average, gained 4-5/16 to 100-5/16 in afternoon trading.
Investors battered P&G stock last week amid reports that the company was engaged in merger talks with Warner-Lambert Co. (WLA) and American Home Products Corp. (AHP). But the company broke off the talks Monday, saying "leaks and resulting speculation" created an environment that made a deal impossible to carry out.
Shareholders feared such a deal, worth an estimated $140 billion, would be too costly and not a good fit. P&G's biggest acquisition to date was the purchase of Iams pet food last year for $2.3 billion.
For the first six months of the fiscal year, Cincinnati-based P&G earned $2.3 billion, or $1.58 per diluted share, including one-time charges. Sales rose 5 percent to $20.5 billion.
In a conference call with analysts, the company warned that third-quarter earnings may be lower than anticipated, because of plans to spend more on marketing, but that full-year estimates should be on track, Reuters reported.
Procter & Gamble is expected to post a third-quarter profit of 81 cents per share, up from 72 cents in the 1999 period, and full-year earnings of $3.22 per share, up from $2.85 last year.
The company also said that for the fiscal year 2000 and beyond, it expects earnings growth to be at the top end of its target range of 13 percent to 15 percent. 
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Procter & Gamble
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