Procter & Gamble's 2Q Earnings Top Expectations

Procter & Gamble reported a 35 percent jump in second-quarter profit, helped by cost savings as the company streamlines its business to focus on more profitable brands.

P&G has been shrinking its portfolio to focus on core, high-growth brands such as Gillette shaving products, Pampers diapers and Tide detergent.

Cost of selling goods fell 11.5 percent to $8.46 billion, while selling, general and administrative costs fell 14 percent to $4.60 billion in the quarter.

Net earnings attributable to the company rose to $3.21 billion, or $1.12 per share, in the quarter ended Dec. 31, from $2.37 billion, or 82 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, the company earned $1.04 per share, beating the average analyst estimate of 98 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Sales fell 8.5 percent to $16.92 billion, slightly below the average analyst estimate of $16.94 billion.

The company said it would spend $15 billion-$16 billion in dividend payments, share exchanges and share repurchases this fiscal year, including more than $7 billion of dividends.

(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)