- Organic sales up 3% and beauty sales up 1%
- Net sales hit $16.1bn, down 3% on 2016
Sales of beauty products at P&G have increased 1% in 2016 compared to 2015. David Taylor, Chairman, President and CEO at P&G, said that 2016 was a positive one for the company.
In an official statement, Taylor said: “We grew organic volume and sales in all reporting segments. We increased investments in innovation and advertising, funded by strong productivity improvement.”
The company said that increased organic sales in skin and personal care were largely driven by the SK-II brand. This partially offset lower sales at Olay, which has not performed as well.
Sales in hair care were mostly unchanged, despite increased sales of Pantene and Head & Shoulders products. P&G said that an innovation-led sales increase for these brands was offset by a decline in sales of its other hair care brands.
Sales of the Fusion FlexBall shaving brand remained strong in developing markets but was offset by competition in North America.
Innovation in baby care also helped increase organic sales but a decline in Mexico offset volume growth in the US after the discontinuation of selected product lines.
Total sales reached $65.3bn, down 8% on 2015 but this includes the negative impact of fluctuating foreign exchange rates.
Last year, P&G agreed to sell most of its beauty and personal care business to rival Coty for $12.5bn. The company is now said to be focusing on a smaller selection of core brands, including Gillette, Herbal Essences, Olay, Venus, Aussie and Head & Shoulders.
P&G now expects to see organic sales grow 2% in 2017 with the impact of foreign exchange rates and brand divestitures. The company plans to increase spending on advertising in the coming year with a focus on in-store and trialing.
Taylor added: “We expect fiscal 2017 to mark another significant step toward our goal of balanced growth and value creation and total shareholder return in the top third of our competitive peer group.”
