NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Procter & Gamble Co. Wednesday raised its profit forecast for the current quarter, when the maker of Crest toothpaste, Pampers diapers and Ivory soap expects high single-digit earnings-per-share growth.

The company, which did not provide a specific forecast number, credited the upside surprise to "strong performance by the health care business unit and continued strength in developing markets."

The news sent shares of Procter & Gamble, one of 30 stocks in the Dow industrials, up $1.57, or 2 percent, to $89 in after-hours trading.

Procter & Gamble (PG: Research, Estimates) also said core earnings per share excluding restructuring charges will top the consensus estimate of $1.10 a share in the second quarter ending this month.

P&G is calling for growth in the high single digits; the consensus forecast would mean a 7 percent gain from $1.03 a share a year earlier, according to First Call, which tracks analysts' profit forecasts.

Second-quarter sales, P&G said, are expected to finish in the mid-to-high single-digit range versus a year ago.

The upside surprise from Procter & Gamble comes on the same day that Kimberly Clark (KMB: Research, Estimates), which competes with P&G in the diaper market, cut it profit forecasts.

Looking ahead, Cincinnati, Ohio-based P&G said it is comfortable with existing consensus estimates for the third quarter, when Wall Street analysts expect a profit of 93 cents per share, on average

Fiscal year core earnings growth is expected to be in the double digits, helped in part by favorable currency rates.