THE PROCTER & GAMBLE COMPANY
NEWS RELEASE One P&G Plaza
Cincinnati, OH 45202
PROCTER & GAMBLE CONFIRMS PRIOR EARNINGS GUIDANCE
FOR THIRD QUARTER 2004/05
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CINCINNATI, Mar.15, 2005 - The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG)
confirmed previously announced earnings guidance for the January to March
quarter. The company continues to expect diluted net earnings per share of $0.60
to $0.62 for the quarter. The company also confirmed it expects total sales
growth for the quarter to be in the high single-digit range.
All statements, other than statements of historical fact included in
this release, are forward-looking statements, as that term is defined in the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In addition to the risks and
uncertainties noted in this release, there are certain factors that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by some of the
statements made. These include: (1) the ability to achieve business plans,
including with respect to lower income consumers and growing existing sales and
volume profitably despite high levels of competitive activity, especially with
respect to the product categories and geographical markets (including developing
markets) in which the company has chosen to focus; (2) successfully completing,
executing, managing and integrating key acquisitions (including the Domination
and Profit Transfer Agreement with Wella and the company's agreement to acquire
The Gillette Company and obtaining the related required shareholder and
regulatory approvals); (3) the ability to manage and maintain key customer
relationships; (4) the ability to maintain key manufacturing and supply sources
(including sole supplier and plant manufacturing sources); (5) the ability to
successfully manage regulatory, tax and legal matters (including product
liability matters), and to resolve pending matters within current estimates; (6)
the ability to successfully implement, achieve and sustain cost improvement
plans in manufacturing and overhead areas, including the success of the
company's outsourcing projects; (7) the ability to successfully manage currency
(including currency issues in volatile countries), debt (including debt related
to the company's announced plan to repurchase shares of the company's stock in
connection with the pending acquisition of The Gillette Company), interest rate
and certain commodity cost exposures; (8) the ability to manage the continued
global political and/or economic uncertainty and disruptions, especially in the
company's significant geographical markets, as well as any political and/or
economic uncertainty and disruptions due to terrorist activities; (9) the
ability to successfully manage increases in the prices of raw materials used to
make the company's products; (10) the ability to stay close to consumers in an
era of increased media fragmentation; and (11) the ability to stay on the
leading edge of innovation. For additional information concerning factors that
could cause actual results to materially differ from those projected herein,
please refer to our most recent 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K reports.
ABOUT P&G
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Two billion times a day, P&G brands touch the lives of people around
the world. The company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality,
leadership brands, including Pampers(R), Tide(R), Ariel(R), Always(R),
Whisper(R), Pantene(R), Bounty(R), Pringles(R), Folgers(R), Charmin(R),
Downy(R), Lenor(R), Iams(R), Crest(R), Actonel(R), Olay(R), Clairol Nice `n
Easy(R), Head & Shoulders and Wella. The P&G community consists of about 110,000
employees working in almost 80 countries worldwide. Please visit
HTTP://WWW.PG.COM for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its
brands.
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P&G MEDIA CONTACT:
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In the US: 1-800-866-PROCTER or 1-866-776-2837
International: +1-513-945-9087
P&G INVESTOR RELATIONS CONTACT:
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Thomas T. Tippl - (513) 983-2414