P&G earnings beat expectations as e-commerce sales rise 50%

Procter & Gamble ( P&G) reported a 50% increase in e-commerce sales in the third quarter of fiscal 2021 , which ended March 31. Consumers maintained pandemic buying trends, such as buying more cleaning supplies , and began shopping for beauty products again.  

According to Moeller , P&G is looking to scale its products to best serve e-commerce and digital commerce consumers. One of its initiatives is to improve packaging, especially for liquid products. P&G wants to ensure that its products make it to the consumer's home smoothly until the moment he or she opens the box. "In the e-commerce environment, the shipping conditions for bottles are much tougher, and we need to design packaging for that, " Moeller said .

The report showed that P&G's sales in the third quarter of 2021 were $18.1 billion, exceeding the expectation of $17.9 billion and increasing by 5% over the previous year . Organic revenue increased by 4% in the quarter , and e-commerce now accounts for 14% of P&G's global sales .

Meanwhile, the industry's healthy development was driven by "disproportionate growth" in high-end home care, oral care and home appliances, as well as Greater China and North America . In particular, China, despite the base being partially affected by the lockdown, saw revenue growth of 22%. Meanwhile, its revenue in the United States grew by 7%.

Separately, organic sales at the company's fabric and home care division, which includes Dawn and Cascade dishwashing detergents, rose 7% from a year ago . P&G's beauty business also saw 7% organic revenue growth , and consumers began buying skin-care products again, such as its premium SK-II brand, while Chinese customers led growth in hair-care products.

Baby, feminine and family care was the only segment to see organic sales decline. The company said fewer consumers bought baby care products, such as Pampers diapers, because of competition and retailers stocking up.

In addition, P&G said in its financial report that it has begun implementing price increases in the baby care, feminine care and adult incontinence product categories in the United States. The fast-moving consumer goods company said this will offset some of the impact of rising commodity costs. The price increases will take effect in mid-September, and the exact amount of the price increase will vary by brand and sub-brand, ranging in the mid-to-high single-digit percentage range.

Last October, P&G announced an investment of S$50 million in Singapore for new digital business-related business expenditures. The company will also train more than 50 employees to take on new digital roles over the next three years. This is part of its newly launched iFuture digital capability program, which is a collaboration with the Singapore Economic Development Board to further accelerate digital innovation in Singapore.

Procter & Gamble

E-commerce