Procter & Gamble, owner of the Pantene shampoo and Tide detergent brands, said its India business has slowed due to monetary policies that impacted liquidity in the market.
Jon Moeller, chief financial officer, P&G, told investors on Thursday,
Slowing growth rates in India, largely as a result of some monetary policies, have created a bit of a liquidity squeeze, which is drying up inventory through the system.
While Moeller said the company is doing well and building share in the Indian market but also expressed that the challenges will likely remain for the balance of the year.
The company reported a 5 per cent increase in net sales to $18.2 billion vis-a-vis the prior year from its global business. P&G returned $5.4 billion of cash to shareholders through $1.9 billion in dividend payments and $3.5 billion of common stock repurchases.
P&G raised its outlook for “FY 2020 all-in sales growth from a range of 3-5 per cent to a range of 4-5 per cent growth versus the prior fiscal year,” it said in a statement. Details for India business and other markets weren’t shared in the company’s consolidated earnings information.
The management commentary from P&G is in line with what rival companies have said earlier. Unilever chief executive Alan Jope last month said measures to revive falling growth may need time to take effect and its India business could start to pick up in the second half of 2020.
