P&G brands' strength, higher prices provide 33% profit increase

Procter & Gamble Co. The consumer products maker, flexing its brand strength, reported a 33 percent jump in fourth-quarter profit Tuesday as P&G battled soaring energy and commodity costs with higher prices and product improvements.

The Cincinnati-based maker of Tide, Olay and Pampers earned $3.02 billion, or 92 cents per share, up from $2.27 billion, or 67 cents per share, a year ago. Excluding tax benefits, P&G earned 80 cents per share.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call had expected 78 cents per share.

Archer Daniels Midland Co. The food processor and ethanol producer said Tuesday its fourth-quarter profit plunged 61 percent, even though revenue soared. The results disappointed analysts who worry ADM's future might only get tougher as grain prices fall from historically high levels.

The Decatur-Ill.-based company said profit for the quarter ended June 30 fell to $372 million, or 58 cents per share.

That's down from $955 million, or $1.47 cents per share, a year ago, which included after-tax gains on asset sales of $616 million, or 95 cents per share.

The fourth-quarter 2008 results fell below expectations on Wall Street for a profit of 67 cents per share, according to Thomson First Call.

Cisco Systems said orders would grow 8 percent in the current quarter, as customers, particularly telecom carriers, pinch their pennies.

Investors had been expecting the weak economy to catch up to the San Jose, Calif.-based company. It's the dominant player in an industry that has been growing dramatically, but at the same time, its routers and switches are capital investments, the kind that suffer in an economic downturn.

For the fiscal fourth quarter ended July 25, Cisco reported earnings of $2.01 billion, or 33 cents per share. In the 2007 period Cisco earned $1.93 billion, or 31 cents per share. Sales rose 10 percent to $10.4 billion.