P&G makes acquisition, reports solid quarter

On the heels of announcing a major acquisition, Cincinnati-based household goods powerhouse Procter & Gamble Co. (P&G) is reporting a solid quarter.

The company reported fiscal year third quarter 2018 net sales of $16.3 billion, four percent above the same point in the prior year. Diluted net earnings per share were 95 cents, an increase of two percent compared to the prior year while core earnings per share increased four percent to $1, the company said.

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Operating cash flow was put at $3.4 billion for the quarter. Adjusted free cash flow productivity was 95 percent, P&G said.

Net sales also beat analysts’ estimates. Net sales rose 4.3 percent, just above what analysts estimated would be $16.21 billion in a Thomson Reuters survey.

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The company said it returned $3.2 billion of cash to shareholders through $1.8 billion of dividends and $1.4 billion of common stock repurchases.

Earlier this month, P&G announced a four percent increase in its quarterly dividend, marking the 62nd consecutive year the company has increased its dividend.

P&G said it has been paying a dividend for 128 years, since its incorporation in 1890.

Earlier Thursday, P&G said it would acquire German company Merck KGaA’s consumer health division for 3.4 billion euros or just over $4 billion.

P&G makes Pampers diapers and Gillette razors and a wide array of popular household items. The acquisition will give expand P&G’s product portfolio to include Vicks cold relief medicines and more.

P&G has a massive distribution operation in Union, last year taking over part of the services there from Impact Fulfillment Services.

The 1.7 million-square-foot center near Dayton International Airport opened in 2015. About 760 people work there today.

More than a third of P&G’s products moves through the facility. DHL has about 520 employees at the site; Impact has about 100; P&G has about 140.

P&G also has a “beauty and innovation” center and campus in Mason.

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