Procter and Gamble profits sink 15.5% as sales miss forecasts

US consumer products giant Procter and Gamble Friday reported a 15.5 percent drop in quarterly earnings on essentially flat sales that slightly missed analyst expectations. Net income for the second quarter of fiscal 2014 came in at $3.4 billion on $22.28 billion in revenues, down from $4.1 billion on $22.18 billion in revenue in the prior-year period. The results equated to earnings per-share of $1.21 excluding one-time items, a penny above analyst expectations. Revenues fell just shy of analyst projections of $22.34 billion. P and G said the decline in net income compared with the prior year was due to a gain in the 2013 period from the sale of its Italy bleach business. The 2014 period was also negatively impacted by changes in foreign currency levels. P and G said it notched "organic" sales growth of three percent in the quarter, with volume increases in all five of its segments. "Organic" sales exclude foreign exchange effects and the impact of acquisitions and divestitures. P and G chief executive officer A.G. Lafley said the company was on track to reach its 2014 objectives of three to four percent organic sales growth, and five to seven percent earnings per share growth. "P and G's second quarter results came in as we expected," Lafley said. "We expect strong earnings growth in the second half of the year, driven by solid top-line growth, moderating headwinds from foreign exchange, and productivity savings that build throughout the year." A Dow component, P and G was off 1.6 percent at $78 in pre-market trade.