CINCINNATI (AP) — Procter & Gamble Co. said Tuesday that it will expand its Gain brand from the laundry to the kitchen sink, the latest move by the world's largest consumer products company to market its megabrands in new ways and new places.
At a Jefferies investor conference in Nantucket, Mass., the company also affirmed forecasts on sales and earnings it offered earlier this year.
After slipping during the recession, P&G's revenue is rising again because the company is offering new versions of its most popular products at lower prices that reach new consumers.
Gain is among 22 P&G brands with $1 billion in annual sales. The new Gain dishwashing liquid will debut within a year, according to the Cincinnati-based company's chief financial officer, Jon Moeller.
Gain is usually priced below P&G's best-selling Tide laundry detergent. P&G officials said they're still working out details of plans for the Gain liquid, which would join P&G brands such as Dawn and Joy used for washing dishes by hand.
Moeller also said P&G plans major overseas expansion of the premium-priced Gillette ProGlide shavers launched this month in the United States.
He said new, lower-priced versions of Tide detergent and Gillette Mach3 shavers are off to good starts in India.
Moeller said P&G still expects organic sales, a key sales gauge that excludes such impacts as currency fluctuations, to rise between 3 percent and 5 percent for the fiscal year ending June 30, with earnings per share of $4.06 to $4.12. Analysts expect $4.12.
P&G reports its full-year results Aug. 3.
P&G shares fell 38 cents to close at $60.72 Tuesday. They've sold from $39.37 to $64.58 in the past year.
