In his final shareholder meeting as Procter & Gamble's CEO, David Taylor expressed confidence in the consumer giant's future despite the lingering COVID-19 pandemic and related problems.
Cincinnati-based P&G posted a $14.3 billion profit on total sales of $76.1 billion in the fiscal year ended June 30. Organic sales, which excludes the impact of foreign exchange or mergers and acquisitions, rose 6%.
While P&G has seen a boost in sales for its paper and cleaning products during the pandemic, the company is grappling with rising commodity costs and supply chain snarls that have affected manufacturers across multiple industries.
"P&G continues to do well and grow in the marketplace," Taylor said Tuesday during the virtual meeting held via the Internet. "But the headwinds will continue for some time."
P&G said in July rising commodity and freight costs will saddle the company this year with an estimated $1.9 billion in extra expenses.
Taylor will step aside as CEO on Nov. 1 and become executive chairman at P&G as chief operating officer Jon Moeller takes the helm of the company.
Also stepping away was hedge fund investor and board member Nelson Peltz, who waged an epic proxy battle against P&G in 2017 that resulted in his joining the panel. Peltz did not speak at the meeting. Long-term board members James McNerney, the former CEO of Boeing, and Francis Blake, the former Home Depot CEO, also retired from the board.
On Tuesday, shareholders re-elected 12 board members to a new one-year term and elected a 13th member, McDonald's CEO Christopher Kempczinski. Shareholders also approved an advisory measure on executive pay and rejected a shareholder proposal to add a non-management employee to the board of directors.
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