Today we reported results for the third quarter of P&G’s 2021 fiscal year.
“We delivered another quarter of solid top-line, bottom-line and cash results in what continues to be a challenging operating environment,” said David Taylor, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. “We remain focused on executing our strategies of superiority, productivity, constructive disruption and improving P&G’s organization and culture. These strategies enabled us to build strong business momentum before the COVID crisis and accelerate our progress during the crisis, and they remain the right strategies to deliver balanced growth and value creation over the long term.”
Organic sales increased 4% for the quarter. U.S. organic sales were up 7%, Greater China up 22%, Focus Markets up 5% and Enterprise Markets up 1%.
Most of our global categories grew organic sales, with Home Care up high teens; Oral Care, Hair Care and Skin & Personal Care up high single digits; Family Care and Grooming up mid-single digits; and Fabric Care up low single digits.
Diluted net earnings per share were up 13% vs. prior year, and up 8% vs. prior year Core EPS. Excluding foreign exchange impacts, net EPS also increased 8% vs. prior year Core EPS.
We returned $5 billion of cash to shareowners with $2 billion of dividends paid and $3 billion of P&G stock repurchased in the quarter – and earlier this month, we announced a 10% increase in our dividend. This is the 65th consecutive annual dividend increase for P&G and the 131st consecutive year in which we’ve paid a dividend.
The three priorities guiding our actions and our choices in this crisis period – protecting P&G people, maximizing the availability of products to help people and their families with their cleaning, health and hygiene needs, and supporting the communities, relief agencies and people who are on the frontlines of this global pandemic – are completely congruent with P&G’s long-term strategic choices, in which we remain confident:
- a portfolio of products in daily-use categories where performance plays a significant role in brand choice;
- superiority in products, packages, consumer communication, retail execution and value;
- productivity in all facets of our business;
- a mindset of constructive disruption – a willingness to change, adapt and create new trends and technologies that will shape our industry for the future;
- and a more empowered, agile, accountable organization.
When executed well, these strategies grow markets, which in turn grows share, sales and profit. Our business exhibited strong momentum well before the COVID crisis. We’ve strengthened our position further during the crisis, and we believe P&G is well positioned to serve the heightened needs and new behaviors of consumers and our retail and distributor partners post-crisis.
You can read the full details of our third quarter results in today’s news release: https://news.pg.com/news-releases/news-details/2021/PG-Announces-Fiscal-Year-2021-Third-Quarter-Results/default.aspx. Slides with more detail and the webcast replay are both available at www.pginvestor.com/event. And you can learn more about P&G’s robust COVID-19 response at www.pg.com/covid19.
See www.pginvestor.com/event for P&G's full Q3 FY 2021 earnings release issued April 20, 2021, the associated webcast presentation, definitions of non-GAAP measures and reconciliation to the most closely related GAAP measure, as well as cautionary information on forward-looking statements, which are based on current assumptions and subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially.
