Procter & Gamble tops estimates on resilient demand for beauty, hair-care products

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(Reuters) -Procter & Gamble on Friday beat Wall Street estimates for first-quarter revenue and profit, helped by strong demand for its beauty and hair-care products amid higher prices and a broader slowdown in spending due to economic uncertainties.

The Tide maker, a bellwether for the global consumer goods industry, reduced its annual tariff cost estimate to about $400 million after tax, from about the $800 million forecast in July, largely on Canada lifting retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods.

However, U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday terminated all trade talks with Canada. The Canadian government had no immediate comment.

The company’s shares were up about 2% in premarket trading. They have fallen about 9% so far this year.

P&G’s results echo those from rival and Dove parent Unilever, which on Thursday disclosed double-digit sales growth from beauty brands in the U.S.

Overall volumes across P&G remained flat, although they rose in China.

The results kept the company on track to deliver within its annual targets, which it retained on Friday, “in a challenging consumer and geopolitical environment,” outgoing CEO and company veteran Jon Moeller said in a statement.

Sales volumes in the beauty segment, which houses brands such as Pantene shampoo and the Olay brand, rose 4% in the three months ended September, compared with a 1% increase in the prior quarter. Prices in the business were up by about 1% sequentially.

Like its peers, P&G has raised prices in the U.S. to help mitigate the effect of tariffs.

The company’s quarterly revenue grew 3% to $22.39 billion, edging past estimates of a 2% growth to $22.17 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Core earnings per share of $1.99 beat estimates by 9 cents, as higher prices helped offset pressures from the tariffs.

(Reporting by Juveria Tabassum in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)