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Procter & Gamble saw fourth-quarter profit slump by nearly a fifth to $2.47 billion (£1.46 billion), the household goods giant said today, as customers downgraded to cheaper goods.
The maker of Pampers nappies, Pringles crisps and Gillette razors saw sales fall across all its businesses and the firm, regarded as a bellwether of consumer spending, saw profit in the three months to June plunge from $3.02 billion in the same period a year earlier.
The latest figures follow nearly a decade of strong growth at P&G, the world's largest producer of consumer goods, but it is now counting the cost of customers around the globe reining in spending and trading down to non-branded goods.
Sales fell by 11% to $18.7 billion in the quarter.
It admitted to concerns about next year's trading too.
Although it promised to accelerate investment in "long-term growth opportunities", it also hinted at plans to cut costs.
In the US, the firm's biggest market, official figures released yesterday showed household income fell more in the 12 months to June than at any other time since records began in 1960.
Chairman AG Lafley said the company had faced "one of the most difficult macroeconomic environments in decades".
