(Reuters) – U.S. consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble Co (P&G) raised its full-year sales forecast on Friday and beat estimates for its quarterly results as higher prices boosted margins and offset the impact of customer purchases of cheaper products.

The group also raised the upper limit of its share buyback target for the year 2023, which will be between 7.4 billion and 8 billion dollars (6.74-7.29 billion euros) of shares. ordinary.

Procteur & Gamble stock rose 1% in pre-market trading.

Products made by companies such as P&G and Unilever are usually among the last to experience a slowdown in demand, compared to non-essential products such as appliances and furniture.

P&G, which notably makes Pantene shampoos, reported a 3% decline in overall volumes in the third quarter as average prices for its product categories rose 10%.

P&G’s gross margin for the period increased by 150 basis points compared to last year, with an increase of 470 basis points due to higher prices which were partially offset by higher input costs and raw material.

P&G now expects an annual impact of approximately $3.5 billion from rising raw material and freight costs, as well as negative exchange rates, compared to a previous estimate of 3.7 billions of dollars.

P&G said it expects organic sales growth of around 6% for the year, compared to the group’s previous expectation of a 4% to 5% increase.

The company, which notably owns Ariel laundry detergents and Head & Shoulders shampoos, maintained its forecast of a stable annual profit or up to 4%.

On an adjusted basis, earnings per share for the third quarter came out at $1.37 per share, above the estimate of $1.32 per share.

(Report Ananya Mariam Rajesh in Bangalore; Lina Golovnya, edited by Blandine Hénault)

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