The company lowered the bottom end of its profit forecast for the current fiscal year, which began July 1, citing volatility in commodity, energy and currency markets.
Procter & Gamble, the world’s largest consumer products maker, said it still faced high commodity prices.
“We’re not seeing that commodity recession. You might be seeing it on television, but we’re not seeing it in the reality in the marketplace,” A. G. Lafley, chairman and chief executive, said in a conference call.
Now that prices of some commodities are falling, analysts have questioned whether consumers will soon see lower prices in stores as well.
Mr. Lafley said that the company was not lowering prices at this time, but would do so if commodities moved down in a meaningful way.
P.& G. said consumers were continuing to buy more expensive items like clinical-strength deodorants, as well as products like Luvs diapers, which are priced lower than the company’s Pampers brand.
P.& G. said profit in its fiscal first quarter rose 9 percent, to $3.35 billion, or $1.03 a share, from $3.08 billion, or 92 cents a share, a year earlier, matching analysts’ average forecast, according to Reuters Estimates.
The results were helped by price increases and a benefit from foreign exchange rates.
Now that the dollar is gaining, sales in foreign markets have a lower value on the income statement.
Sales rose 9 percent, to $22.03 billion, from $20.2 billion. Excluding the impact of acquisitions, divestitures and currency changes, sales increased 5 percent.
P.& G. says it now expects to earn $3.77 to $3.87 a share in fiscal 2009, versus a previous forecast of $3.80 to $3.87 a share. Analysts were expecting earnings, on average, of $3.83 a share.
The company said its credit ratings were in the top 5 percent of all public companies, which should allow it to gain access to the credit markets. Its shares fell $1.90 to $61.33.
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