P & G’s CEO sees elevated demand for cleansing merchandise that can outlast the Covid pandemic

People are no longer filling up with household goods like they did in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, but Procter & Gamble chairman and CEO David Taylor told CNBC on Tuesday that the company expects increased demand for certain categories.

“They no longer hoard. In many cases they are working on the inventory they made at home,” Taylor said in an interview that aired on Closing Bell. “But I think consumers are realizing that what could happen is still very different so sustained a little more than it was before the pandemic.”

According to Taylor, P&G, who owns brands like Mr. Clean, Microban 24, and Crest, anticipates people will focus more on cleaning and hygiene, which could give the consumer goods giant a tailwind.

“I think we all have a habit of cleaning. We’ve gotten used to the house being a bigger part of our lives,” said Taylor, who has headed P&G based in Cincinnati since 2015. These habits are likely to persist for a long time after the pandemic, and that bodes well for many of the categories in which we compete. “

P&G was seen as the type of company to benefit from the pandemic, with CNBC’s Jim Cramer adding its stocks to its Covid index, for example. However, investors have marveled at the persistence of sales increases related to Covid, especially as a wider range of economic activity resumes and more immediate virus concerns abate.

P & G’s shares have fallen more than 10% since hitting a 52-week high of $ 146.92 on November 9. For comparison: the benchmark index S&P 500 rose by a little more than 9% over the same period.

Taylor said it was “interesting” to see consumer spending recalibrated, but he felt that “health, cleaning and hygiene will remain strong after the pandemic”.

Taylor is not alone in predicting that changes in attitudes about cleanliness will persist. Linda Rendle, the executive director of Clorox, gave a similar outlook in a CNBC interview on Friday. “When cleaning, people focus more on safety and wellbeing than on a chore,” said Rendle.

Clorox raised its full-year sales outlook based on its quarterly report earlier this month and forecast sales growth of between 10% and 13% for fiscal 2021. P&G also did so in January when it released results for the second quarter of the fiscal year. Full year sales are now expected to grow between 5% and 6% compared to its previous forecast of 3% to 4%.

P&G stock closed the session Tuesday 0.74% to $ 127.52 apiece.