Shares of consumer products maker Procter & Gamble (PG) have lost ground before the opening bell on Friday, weighed down by an earnings report released in the early morning that contained lowered full-year guidance.
The stock is trading at $56.25, down from Thursday's close of $58.22. The retreat is reversing gains posted over the previous few days. The stock bounced off support earlier this week after approaching its 52-week low of $54.92.
The company reported second-quarter net income of $5 billion or $1.58 per share. This compared to $3.27 billion or $0.98 per share in the year-ago quarter.
Net earnings from continuing operations were $2.96 billion or $0.94 per share, down from $3.19 billion or $0.96 per share in the prior year quarter.
The latest quarter earnings per share include a $0.63 gain from the Folgers transaction completed during the quarter.
Net sales slipped 3% to $20.37 billion from $21.04 billion in the same quarter a year ago. The top-line result was hurt by tunfavorable foreign exchange and lower volume.
Looking ahead to the third quarter, the company projects earnings in the range of $0.78 - $0.86 per share, including incremental Folgers-related restructuring charges.
For fiscal 2009, Procter & Gamble lowered its earnings guidance to $4.20 - $4.35 per share from prior outlook of $4.28 - $4.38 per share.
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