Procter & Gamble President-CEO A.G. Lafley sees room for growth following P&G's purchase of Gillette Co.
P&G bumped up its sales growth goal, eyeing a 5% to 7% increase in sales and a boost in operating margins to 24% (from its current 19%), Lafley told shareholders at P&G's annual meeting earlier this week.
He credits P&G's current growth in part to attention to core businesses, expansion in beauty, health, and personal care— through its acquisition of Gillette— targeting lower-income consumers in developing markets. He sees P&G's branding, innovation, go-to-market capability and scale as drivers of future growth.
"There is plenty of room to keep growing in every strategic focus area," he said. "And with Gillette, the opportunities for growth are even greater," Lafley said. "We're confident that adding Gillette will provide additional upside to our double-digit earnings-per-share growth goal."
P&G sales are up 40% over the past four years to about $70 billion a year, and its portfolio includes 22 billion-dollar brands, up from 10 brands five years ago, due mostly to acquisitions of Clairol (2001), Wella (2003) and Gillette.
