Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) cleaned up in its fiscal second quarter, with earnings that jumped 22%, including a whopping 50% increase in beauty-care sales. One of the interesting contributions was the company's controlling interest in Germany's Wella, which did a good share of boosting the company's results.
According to a P&G press release back in March, Wella is the No. 2 name in global professional hair care sales, a $10 billion market. In addition to self-titled products, Wella is also the name behind the Sebastian brand of professional hair products, as well as several others.
Further, in the company's conference call (transcript courtesy of CCBN StreetEvents), executives pointed to strength in Wella's fragrance line during the holiday season. Wella adds several fragrances marketed to women, including Gucci, to P&G's fragrance line, which includes men's cologne, such as the popular Hugo Boss, as well as perfume like Giorgio. There is a $20 billion worldwide market for fine fragrances, according to the same announcement.
The strength of P&G -- its ultra-familiar product offerings that are engrained in the lives of U.S. consumers -- has been discussed here before. It tends to be a stable stock, with its collection of ubiquitous brands: Pantene, Prilosec, Crest Whitestrips, Swiffer, Tide, and Mr. Clean, to name just a handful.
However, in the call, the company discussed its attempts to boost growth overseas. If it has exhibited a vast amount of expertise in its own backyard, it has been admittedly behind its competitors in developing markets. According to P&G, only 20% of its business is in developing markets, compared to 25% to 45% for its most important rivals.
As the company describes it, "meeting with the world's consumers is a key part of our top-line growth strategy." As it should be: Exhibiting the same marketing acumen overseas as it has in the U.S. will guarantee further growth. It said it's been making gains, with volume in developing markets up 20% in the quarter.
P&G may be a giant, but it faces heated competition with companies like Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB), its major diaper rival. And when asked about its volume gains overseas, the company would not go so far as to say it was coming at the expense of rivals' products. When it comes to forward growth, signs point to overseas, with an aggressive play against both its old U.S. rivals as well as entrenched foreign competitors.
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