NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Procter & Gamble Co. posted improved fiscal first-quarter earnings Tuesday that beat Wall Street expectations, as the company said it sees good growth prospects in the new fiscal year.

The maker of such consumer products as Pampers diapers, Tide detergent and Crest toothpaste earned $1.58 billion, or $1.12 a share, in the period ended Sept. 30, up from $1.34 billion, or 96 cents, excluding special items, a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by earnings tracker First Call had a consensus forecast of $1.10.

Shares of P&G (PG: up $2.10 to $87.85, Research, Estimates), a component of the Dow Jones industrial average, bucked the decline in that blue-chip index to gain about 2 percent in morning trading Tuesday.

Including special items, P&G had net income of $1.46 billion, or $1.04 a share, up from $1.1 billion, or 79 cents, a year earlier.

Revenue rose to $10.8 billion from $9.8 billion, beating the First Call forecast of $10.5 billion. The company said revenue was helped by volume growth and changes in currency exchange rates, overcoming the negative impact of lower pricing on some products and a weaker mix of products.

P&G said it expects earnings per share percentage growth in the mid- to high-single digits in the fiscal second quarter. Analysts surveyed by First Call expect EPS to rise to $1.09 from $1.03 a year ago. Sales growth also is expected in the mid- to high-single digits.

The company said its full-year fiscal guidance remains unchanged, with revenue growth between 4 and 6 percent and earnings per share growth of 10 percent or more. First Call's full-year EPS forecast is $3.97, up 10.6 percent from the $3.59 a share P&G earned before special items in the recently completed fiscal year.