Procter & Gamble Co at Barclays Global Consumer Staples Conference Transcript

The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.

Question: Lauren Lieberman - Barclays Bank PLC - Analyst : So where I wanted to start is just with 4Q. So 4Q results came in a bit shy of expectations on the top line. And I think the conversation has moved on a little bit but it definitely triggered a lot of dialogue in the day or two kind of following. So maybe we can just start there in terms of, I guess, has anything changed? People were definitely asking me like, is something wrong? And I just love you to kind of opine on that question.

Question: Lauren Lieberman - Barclays Bank PLC - Analyst : Okay, great. And if I take a step back, we looked at the fourth quarter and look, 85% of the business -- and you guys have talked about the 85%. But 85% of the business grew about 4% in the fourth quarter, roughly in line with what growth was in a more normalized pricing environment. So first, can you kind of comment, is that a good benchmark? Is 4% kind of the right number to anchor to in the current environment for the healthier parts of the portfolio?

Question: Lauren Lieberman - Barclays Bank PLC - Analyst : Okay, okay. Great. Let me just stick with that for a moment. Any areas that you've seen incremental softness since July? The (technical difficulty) companies have been talking about some softening in the US. So just curious, knowing that Q1 will feel like Q4 but from a market growth standpoint, have you seen any slowdown that's worth calling out?

Question: Lauren Lieberman - Barclays Bank PLC - Analyst : Okay, great. Let's shift maybe to the 15%, the other markets. And we'll start with China. So China is your second largest market. Can you talk a little bit about current market dynamics, how that compares to your own performance? And maybe you could talk about it first, isolating SK-II and then the rest of the business, the non-prestige beauty business?

Question: Lauren Lieberman - Barclays Bank PLC - Analyst : Okay. How about we include SK-II? So that's -- I think that was -- comments were more about the additional.

Question: Lauren Lieberman - Barclays Bank PLC - Analyst : Okay, great. And I think -- I mean, like you said, great news that you're holding share in China. But if I think about -- P&G's approach has always been, it's our job to create the market growth.

Question: Lauren Lieberman - Barclays Bank PLC - Analyst : So back to stable in market share, good starting point for the conversation. But beyond SK-II, are there areas of the business where you're thinking about a new approach, changing things in some way to drive and catalyze that market growth so that you can, in fact, live the dream of being the driver of market growth? REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. SEPTEMBER 05, 2024 / 12:15PM, PG.N - Procter & Gamble Co at Barclays Global Consumer Staples Conference

Question: Lauren Lieberman - Barclays Bank PLC - Analyst : Okay, great. Outside of China, just in the rest of the 15%, just curious with where we stand now, anything that perhaps in hindsight -- and you're exiting Nigeria or have exited. But anything that you think you could have or should have done differently to manage those regions or categories differently?

Question: Lauren Lieberman - Barclays Bank PLC - Analyst : Okay, great. Let's talk a little bit about the competitive environment, definitely been a topic through earnings season and absolutely in most sessions so far at the conference. So have heard from some of your peers they're reallocating some advertising spending into promotional spending. REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. SEPTEMBER 05, 2024 / 12:15PM, PG.N - Procter & Gamble Co at Barclays Global Consumer Staples Conference What are you guys seeing in the market? Certainly a more pointed US question, to be clear. But if there's any other markets that are worth commenting on? Are we below or at '19 levels, funded by manufacturers or retailers, but what are you generally seeing promotionally?

Question: Lauren Lieberman - Barclays Bank PLC - Analyst : Okay, great. In particular, US laundry has gotten a lot of attention in terms of the promotional environment. So notwithstanding your comments on your willingness to participate or not, I think it would just be great to get your perspective on what you are seeing in US laundry in terms of the promotional environment.

Question: Lauren Lieberman - Barclays Bank PLC - Analyst : Okay, great. And as we've seen more pressure in the US consumer environment, I think there are pretty significant differences in the portfolio from where you were, let's call it, the last go around of financial crisis, if we want to reference that. So it would be great if you comment maybe on how the portfolio is working, right? Whether it's in laundry -- my brain went right to Tide Simply, but just sort of how the portfolio is working, your ability to keep driving pricing innovation in a more challenged consumer environment in the US, well, globally, really.

Question: Lauren Lieberman - Barclays Bank PLC - Analyst : Okay, great. Let's shift to the longer term. So one of the -- I think the best parts of your strategy in the last several years has been its consistency. And that when times get tough or there's some surprise, you had plenty of them last few years, sort of changing course, you've doubled down and really stuck with it. But as you look out over the next few years, are there any sort of tweaks or adjustments you think that are in the cards, areas you want to get more focused on? And yes, I'm thinking ahead to your Investor Day later this year.

Question: Lauren Lieberman - Barclays Bank PLC - Analyst : Okay, great. Where do we go next? Let's look at and talk a bit about margin structure. So gross margins have fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels, and operating margins can reach 25% this year, which I think is a peak. My model goes back really far. So how should we think about the drivers of margin expansion going forward? And is there a ceiling on how high is high?

Question: Lauren Lieberman - Barclays Bank PLC - Analyst : Okay. I think something that, frankly, the media likes to jump on to and sometimes investors do is how does that idea work vis-a-vis retailers versus manufacturers as a broad statement across CPG, not specific to P&G? So do you ever have -- find yourself in conversations or drawn in conversations with a retailer CEO that's really pushing and saying you guys are making too much money?

Question: Lauren Lieberman - Barclays Bank PLC - Analyst : Okay, great. So that's -- it's a perfect entrTe to talk about innovation. So I would argue -- I have argued that P&G has been remarkably consistent in delivering high-quality innovation throughout -- I mean, in particular, the last four to five years where there was a lot of companies had to put a stop on those activities. REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. SEPTEMBER 05, 2024 / 12:15PM, PG.N - Procter & Gamble Co at Barclays Global Consumer Staples Conference One thing though that was interesting is there was a lot of new brand development out of P&G during that period. A lot of -- Joy, WaterLess, there's a long list of them. I guess how many of these smaller brands that you launched would you say broadly kind of still are in the market? What is the role? Do you think this small brand development, is it something that still matters, it's something retailers and/or consumers are still interested in?

Question: Lauren Lieberman - Barclays Bank PLC - Analyst : Okay. And in China specifically, I think the -- and you mentioned a little bit earlier and you certainly mentioned it earlier this year about working differently with retailers. And I thought it was really interesting idea that this would be a testing ground for some of the end-to-end and supply chain integration work because I don't think that would be the common perception of where the Chinese retail landscape is. So you talked about why start there, kind of early reads on some of those pilot programs that you've had.

Question: Lauren Lieberman - Barclays Bank PLC - Analyst : Okay, great. I'm going to squeeze in one more and it's back to the shorter term, which is, the guidance for the year on organic sales is 3% to 5%. So how should we think about where you fall in that range? What are the determinants between high end, low end, and midpoint?

Question: Lauren Lieberman - Barclays Bank PLC - Analyst : Okay. Perfect. We have to end there and we will go to a breakout session. So please join me in thanking P&G for being at the conference.