Tag: quarterly earnings
JPMorgan CEO Blasts American Media, Washington In Bizarre Conference Call

JPMorgan CEO Blasts American Media, Washington In Bizarre Conference Call

Wholly unsurprisingly, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon made financial pages headlines for abstractly criticizing Washington bureaucracy and the American media during a conference call with reporters on Friday. The call was meant to detail the bank’s record-breaking second quarter earnings.

“It’s almost an embarrassment being an American citizen traveling around the world and listening to the stupid shit we have to deal with in this country,” Dimon — who’d recently returned from an overseas work trip — complained, repeatedly banging on the table.

“The United States of America has to start to focus on policy which is good for all Americans, and that is infrastructure, regulation, taxation, education,” he went on. “Why you guys don’t write about it every day is completely beyond me. And, like, who cares about fixed income trading in the last two weeks of June? I mean seriously.”

Dimon, a major Democratic donor worth $1.16 billion as of this writing, endorsed a theoretical 10% tax hike for top income earners in 2015 before refusing an offer to be President Trump’s treasury secretary.

Asked by one reporter on Friday if his criticism was aimed at the Trump administration, Dimon said “No,” adding, “That was frustration with you.”

Photo: Steve Jurvetson via Wikimedia Commons

P&G Earnings Rise As It Moves To Cut Lagging Brands

P&G Earnings Rise As It Moves To Cut Lagging Brands

New York (AFP) — U.S. consumer products giant Procter & Gamble Friday unveiled plans to eliminate dozens of underperforming brands as it reported a big increase in quarterly earnings.

P&G, which makes Pantene shampoo, Tide detergent, and other mainstays, plans to cull 90-100 lower-selling brands over the next 12-24 months as it aims to further build up its best-sellers.

“Less will be much more,” said chief executive A.G. Lafley.

“We want to be in the businesses we should be in, not the business we are in,” Lafley said on a conference call.

P&G did not disclose the brands that are targeted for discontinuation or divestment. The company will keep its 70-80 top brands that account for about 90 percent of sales and 95 percent of profit.

Lafley highlighted the recently launched close-shaving Gilette “Flexball” razor and an upcoming “revolutionary” Crest strip product for sensitive teeth as examples of products that can command a premium.

“We’re bringing renewed focus to brands,” Lafley said, adding that the goal is to build “lasting practice and loyalty” among consumers.

The announcement came as P&G reported $2.6 billion in profits for its fiscal fourth quarter ending June 30, a 38 percent increase compared with a year ago. Part of the improvement came from a seven percent cut in expenses to $6.3 billion.

P&G chief financial officer Jon Moeller said results were hit by softening currencies in some of its biggest markets, such as Japan, Venezuela, and the Ukraine.

P&G’s “core earnings” per share, which strips out currency effects and the impact of restructuring charges, were 95 cents for the quarter, four cents above analyst expectations.

Revenues slipped 0.7 percent to $20.16 billion, below the $20.48 billion projected by analysts.

For the full year, P&G reported net income of $11.6 billion, up three percent from the prior year. Annual sales were $83.06 billion, up 0.6 percent.

P&G shares were the best performing in the 30-company Dow Jones Industrial Average, rising 4 percent to $80.41 at mid-morning.

AFP Photo/Joe Raedle

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