Procter & Gamble quarterly earnings top estimates thanks to higher prices

Investing.com -- Procter&Gamble (NYSE:PG) posted core income that beat analyst expectations in its fiscal fourth quarter thanks to higher prices that helped offset a decline in volume.

U.S. consumers have been reining in spending on discretionary items as inflation outpaces wage growth despite ebbing in recent months. This trend has threatened returns for businesses like P&G, the consumer goods giant behind a wide variety of ubiquitous household items like Fairy washing up liquid and Pampers baby diapers.

In response to the crimp on expenditures, P&G has pushed up prices. The decision has left the company open to criticism that it was pursuing profitability at the expense of ailing customers, a charge that executives have countered by noting that there has been "no broad-based relief" for its own input costs.

Prices grew by 7% during the April to June period, P&G said, driving up net sales to $20.6 billion, mitigating the effect of 1% decrease in shipment volumes and "significant cost headwinds."

Diluted earnings per share in turn jumped by 13% to $1.37, topping Bloomberg consensus estimates of $1.32. Shares in P&G rose in premarket trading on Friday.