Procter & Gamble Co (P&G) plans to remove its batteries and make Duracell a stand-alone company.
The world’s largest consumer products maker, which acquired Duracell in 2005, has been trimming its product lineup to focus on its top performers.
After it finishes jettisoning more than half its brands around the globe over the next year or two, P&G said it is set to be left with about 70 to 80 brands.
If a split-off of Duracell occurs, P&G said its shareholders would have the option of exchanging some, none or all of their P&G shares for shares of the new Duracell company.
P&G chief financial officer Jon Moeller during a call with reporters said that Duracell is an “attractive” business that generates about US$2 billion a year in sales.
P&G on Friday said that it would prefer a spin-off of Duracell, but that it is considering a sale or other options for Duracell.
The decision to sell or discontinue 90 to 100 brands comes as P&G fights to boost sluggish sales.
In the latest quarter, the company said sales volume fell in its beauty, hair and personal care unit.
Under pressure to boost its performance, the company brought back A.G. Lafley as its chief executive officer last year.
Lafley said the firm’s expansive portfolio is the result of a natural evolution of multinational companies, which have a tendency to create or acquire brands over time.
However, P&G had already been trying to slim down in recent years,
P&G said it now expects sales next year to be flat to up to low-single digits — it previously forecast growth in the low single digits.
It stood by its guidance for core earnings per share to grow in the mid-single-digit range.
For the quarter ending Sept. 30, it earned US$1.99 billion, or US$0.69 per share.
Not including one-time items, it earned US$1.07 per share, which matched the consensus of analysts surveyed by FactSet.
Revenue slipped to US$20.79 billion — analysts polled by FactSet expected US$20.76 billion.
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