CINCINNATI, April 11, 2005 – The Board of Directors of The
Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) declared an increase
in the quarterly dividend on its Common Stock and on the Series
A and Series B ESOP Convertible Class A Preferred Stock from
$0.25 to $0.28 per share, payable on or after May 16, 2005
to shareholders of record at the close of business on April
22, 2005.
P&G has been paying dividends without interruption since
incorporation in 1890. This is the 49th consecutive fiscal
year that P&G has increased dividends.
Forward-Looking Statements
All
statements, other than statements of historical fact included
in this release, are forward-looking statements, as that term
is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995. In addition to the risks and uncertainties noted
in this release, there are certain factors that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those anticipated
by some of the statements
made. These include: (1) the ability to achieve business plans,
including with respect to lower income consumers and growing
existing sales and volume profitably despite high levels of
competitive activity, especially with respect to the product
categories and geographical markets (including developing
markets) in which the Company has chosen to focus; (2) the
ability to successfully execute, manage and integrate key
acquisitions and mergers, including (i) the Domination and
Profit Transfer Agreement with Wella, and (ii) the Company’s
agreement to merge with The Gillette Company, including obtaining
the related required shareholder and regulatory approvals;
(3) the ability to manage and maintain key customer relationships;
(4) the ability to maintain key manufacturing and supply sources
(including sole supplier and plant manufacturing sources);
(5) the ability to successfully manage regulatory, tax and
legal matters (including product liability, patent, and other
intellectual property matters), and to resolve pending matters
within current estimates; (6) the ability to successfully
implement, achieve and sustain cost improvement plans in manufacturing
and overhead areas, including
the Company's outsourcing projects; (7) the ability to successfully
manage currency (including currency issues in volatile countries),
debt (including debt related to the Company’s announced plan
to repurchase shares of the Company’s stock), interest rate
and certain commodity cost exposures; (8) the ability to manage
the continued global political and/or economic uncertainty
and disruptions, especially in the Company's significant geographical
markets, as well as any political and/or economic uncertainty
and disruptions due to terrorist activities; (9) the ability
to successfully manage the pattern of sales, including the
variation in sales volume within periods; (10) the ability
to successfully manage competitive factors, including prices,
promotional incentives and trade terms for products; (11)
the ability to obtain patents and respond to technological
advances attained by competitors and patents granted to competitors;
(12) the ability to successfully manage increases in the prices
of raw materials used to make the Company's products; (13)
the ability to stay close to consumers in an era of increased
media fragmentation; and (14) the ability to stay on the leading
edge of innovation. For additional information concerning
factors that could cause actual results to materially differ
from those projected herein, please refer to our most recent
10-K, 10-Q and 8-K reports.
About P&G
Two billion times
a day, P&G brands touch the lives
of people around the world.
The company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted,
quality, leadership brands, including Pampers®, Tide®, Ariel®,
Always®, Whisper®, Pantene®, Bounty®, Pringles®, Folgers®,
Charmin®, Downy®, Lenor®, Iams®, Crest®, Actonel®, Olay®,
Clairol Nice ‘n Easy®, Head & Shoulders®,
and Wella. The P&G community consists of almost 110,000
employees working in over
80 countries worldwide. Please visit http://www.pg.com for
the latest news and in-depth
information about P&G and
its brands.
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P&G Media Contacts:
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P&G Investor Relations Contact:
Thomas
Tippl + 00 1 513-983-2414