Procter & Gamble Co reported a 68 percent drop in quarterly profit on Tuesday, due to the sale of a chunk of its beauty brands to Coty Inc last fiscal year and a charge related to the recent US tax overhaul. Shares of the company were down 1.4 percent in premarket trading. The net income attributable to the company fell to $2.50 billion, or 93 cents per share, in the second quarter ended December 31, compared with $7.88 billion, or $2.88 per share, a year earlier. The company said it took a net charge of $628 million for the quarter, the result of an estimated repatriation tax charge of $3.8 billion and a net deferred tax benefit of $3.2 billion.
Excluding that charge and other items, the company earned $1.19 per share, beating the average analyst estimate of $1.14 per share. Net sales for the world's largest consumer products maker by market value rose 3 percent to $17.4 billion, boosted by strong sales in its healthcare and beauty businesses.