P & G Net Up 11 Pct, But Says Lukewarm Year Ahead

Procter & Gamble on Tuesday said its earnings jumped 11 percent in the last quarter, but the consumer products giant warned that results from Asia during the next two quarters will be well below year-ago levels due to the Asian economic crisis. The company, whose fiscal ends in June, said it earned $1.04 billion, or 76 cents a share, in its fiscal third quarter ended Dec 31 compared with year-earlier earnings of $944 million, or 67 cents a share. Revenues rose to $9.64 billion from $9.14 billion. Despite the warning about the impact of Asia's economic turmoil, P&G said that, overall, the region's problems are not expected to have a major impact on its earnings growth during its current fiscal year. The consumer products giant said sales fell 5 percent in its Asian unit during the second quarter.