Brands
Financial discipline ramps up Procter and Gamble’s Oct-Dec 13 quarter PAT
BENGALURU: Consumer Goods company Procter & Gamble (P&G) says that a focus on brand fundamentals and strong financial discipline has helped it ramp up its y-o-y PAT by 41.82 per cent during the quarter ended 31 December, 2013 or Q2-2014. (P&G’s financial year commenced on 1 July, 2013, hence the current quarter is its second quarter).
P&G reported PAT of Rs 76.57 crore in its Q2-2014 as compared to Rs 53.99 crore in its Q2-2013, its Q2-2014 profit after tax (PAT) was up by 39.75 per cent more than the Rs 54.79 crore in its Q1-2014. Over the six month period ended 31 December, 2013, P&G reported PAT of Rs 131.36 crore, which was 32.26 per cent more than the Rs 99.26 crore of the corresponding six month period of last year. P&G’s PAT for its year ended 30 June, 2013 was Rs 203.22 crore.
Revenue for P&G’s Q2-2014 at Rs 521.27 crore was 21.35 per cent as compared to the Rs 470.78 crore in its Q1-2013 and was 15.9 per cent more q-o-q than the Rs 492.9 crore in its Q1-2014. Its revenue during the six month period ended 31 December, 2013 at Rs 1064.17 crore was 25.73 per cent more than the Rs 876 crores of the corresponding six month period of last year. P&G’s Total revenue for its year ended 30 June, 2013 was Rs 1686.78 crore.
Let us look at the ad and sales promo spend numbers reported by P&G in its Q2-2014:
The company’s advertisement and sales promotion (ad and sales promo) spend, though higher in value in the current quarter, was lower in percentage of total revenue term as compared to the corresponding period of last year, but higher than the corresponding percentage of its last financial year. Q-o-q, P&G’s ad and sales promo spend was also higher in the current quarter as compared to the immediate trailing quarter.
P&G spent Rs 97.56 crore towards ad and sales promo in its Q2-2014, which was 3.15 per cent more than the Rs 94.58 crore in its Q2-2013d but 17.08 per cent of its Q2-2014 total revenue as compared to the 20.09 per cent of the corresponding period of last year.
Q-o-q, P&G’s ad and sales promo spend during its Q2-2014 was 22.33 per cent more than the Rs 75.77 crore during its Q1-2014. Its previous quarter ad and sales promo spend was lower at 15.37 per cent of total revenue.
Over the six month period of P&G’s FY-2014, its ad and sales promo spend was 16.29 per cent of total revenue as compared to 19.27 per cent of total revenue of the corresponding period of its last fiscal. During its FY 2013, P&G’s ad and promo expense was lower at 16.91 per cent of total revenue.
P&G’s ad and sales promo spend in terms of percentage of its total expenses for its Q2-2014 was 20.17 per cent of Rs 483.68 crore as compared to 22.97 per cent of its total expense of Rs 11.75 crore in its Q2-2013. Q-o-q, P&G’s ad and sales promo spend was 17.72 per cent of total expense of Rs 427.65 crore during its Q1-2014.
Over the six month period of P&G’s FY-2014, its ad and sales promo spend was 19.02 per cent of total expenses of Rs 911.33 crore as compared to 21.79 per cent of total expense of Rs 748.80 crore of the corresponding period of its last fiscal. For its FY 2013, P&G’s expense towards ad and sales promo was 19.44 per cent of total expense of Rs 1467.53 crore.
P&G says that both its Feminine care and Health care business posted double digit and broad based sales growth via meaningful consumer propositions and strong marketing programs. It says that its recent Old Spice launch is progressing as per plans and adding incremental sales and share growth in a highly competitive category. It says further that its strong margin growth was enabled by a favourable Health care mix, pricing and productivity focus across all cost measures.
Brands
Estée Lauder to shed 10,000 jobs as new boss bets on digital shift
The cosmetics giant raises its profit outlook but stays silent on a possible merger with Spain’s Puig, as job cuts deepen and a three-year sales slump weighs on the turnaround
NEW YORK: Stéphane de La Faverie is not done cutting. Estée Lauder announced on Friday that it plans to eliminate as many as 3,000 additional jobs, taking its total redundancy programme to as many as 10,000 roles, up from a previous target of 7,000 announced a year ago. The company, which owns La Mer, The Ordinary, Tom Ford, and Aveda, employs roughly 57,000 people worldwide. The mathematics of what is now being contemplated is stark.
The fresh round of cuts is expected to generate a further $200 million in savings, bringing the total annual savings from the programme to as much as $1.2 billion before taxes. That money, De La Faverie has made clear, will be ploughed back into the turnaround.
A CEO in a hurry
De La Faverie, who took the helm in January 2025, inherited a company that had endured three consecutive years of annual sales declines. His response has been to move fast and cut deep. A significant portion of the latest redundancies reflects his push to reduce headcount at US department stores, long a cornerstone of Estée Lauder’s distribution model but now a channel in structural decline. In their place, he is accelerating the shift toward faster-growing online platforms, including Amazon.com and TikTok Shop, a pivot that is reshaping not just where Estée Lauder sells but how it thinks about its customers.
The numbers are moving in the right direction
Despite the pain, there are signs the medicine is working. Estée Lauder raised its profit outlook for the remainder of the fiscal year, guiding for adjusted earnings per share in the range of $2.35 to $2.45, above analyst estimates and a notable step up from the $2.05 to $2.25 range it had guided for in February. Organic net sales growth is expected to come in at 3 per cent, the company said, at the high end of the range it set out in February.
The share price tells a mixed story. After De La Faverie took charge, the stock surged nearly 60 per cent, buoyed by investor optimism that a longtime company insider could finally arrest the decline. But 2026 has been rougher: the shares have fallen 27 per cent this year, weighed down by disappointing February results and the overhang of unresolved merger talks with Spanish beauty giant Puig Brands SA. The company gave no additional details about those discussions on Friday, leaving the market to guess.
Silence on Puig
The proposed tie-up with Puig remains the most consequential unknown hanging over Estée Lauder. A deal with the Barcelona-based group, which owns brands including Carolina Herrera and Rabanne, would reshape the global luxury beauty landscape. But with nothing new to say and a turnaround still very much in progress, De La Faverie is asking investors to trust the process.
Three years of sales declines, 10,000 job cuts, and a merger that may or may not happen. At Estée Lauder, the overhaul has barely started.
