Procter & Gamble cuts earnings, revenue forecasts

Procter & Gamble, the world's largest household products maker, today cut its earnings and revenue forecasts for the second time in as many months, according to Reuters.

The producer of Gillette razors, Tide detergent and Duracell batteries said sales would be up three percent year-on-year in the three months to June, compared with an earlier forecast of five percent, the BBC reported.

Core earnings would be between $0.75 and $0.79 per share, compared with the previous prediction of $0.79 and $0.85, the company said in a statement.

According to the Associated Press, P&G blamed unfavorable exchange rates and slower than expected growth in developed markets for the revised forecasts.

The Cincinnati-based company, along with many other US firms, is struggling to deal with the economic crisis in Europe, a slowdown in Asia and sluggish recovery in the United States.

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P&G admitted it had been slow to cut costs and introduce new products, Reuters said.

It now planned to focus on its 40 biggest businesses, 20 biggest new products and 10 most important developing markets in an effort to boost profits.

“We are making the necessary adjustments to our growth strategy to increase focus on our core business and to achieve more balanced growth across geographies, product categories and the top and bottom lines,” P&G chief executive Bob McDonald told a conference in Paris.