- Net Sales +5%; Organic Sales +4%;
- Diluted Net EPS $1.26, +13% vs. prior year Reported EPS; +8% vs. prior year Core EPS
- MAINTAINS SALES AND EARNINGS GUIDANCE
- RAISES OUTLOOK FOR ADJUSTED FREE CASH FLOW PRODUCTIVITY AND CASH RETURN
CINCINNATI, April 20, 2021 - The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) reported third quarter fiscal year 2021 net sales of $18.1 billion, an increase of five percent versus the prior year. Excluding the impacts of foreign exchange, acquisitions and divestitures, organic sales increased four percent. Diluted net earnings per share were $1.26, an increase of 13% versus prior year reported EPS and eight percent versus prior year Core EPS.
Operating cash flow was $4.1 billion for the quarter. Free cash flow productivity was 106%. The Company returned $5 billion of cash to shareholders via $2 billion of dividend payments and $3 billion of common stock repurchases. Earlier this month, P&G announced a 10% increase in the quarterly dividend, marking the 65th consecutive year the Company has increased its dividend. P&G has been paying a dividend for 131 consecutive years since its incorporation in 1890.
Fiscal Year 2021 Guidance
P&G maintained its outlook for fiscal 2021 all-in and organic sales growth in the range of five to six percent versus the prior fiscal year. Foreign exchange is expected to be roughly neutral to sales growth for the fiscal year.
The Company said it continues to expect fiscal 2021 GAAP diluted net earnings per share growth in the range of eight to ten percent versus fiscal 2020 GAAP EPS of $4.96. GAAP EPS guidance includes non-core charges of $0.16 per share in fiscal 2021 for early debt retirement and of $0.16 per share in fiscal 2020 for incremental restructuring charges. P&G maintained guidance for core earnings per share growth in the range of eight to ten percent versus fiscal 2020 core EPS of $5.12. The Company said its current outlook includes headwinds of approximately $150 million after-tax from foreign exchange impacts and more than $200 million after-tax from higher freight costs. The Company now expects a headwind from commodity costs of approximately $125 million after-tax versus the previous fiscal year.