宝洁CEO雷富礼缺席季度业绩电话会议
宝洁公司的旗下拥有大量品牌。图片提供：宝洁公司
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上周五早间，宝洁（Procter & Gamble）举行的2014财年第一季度业绩电话会议缺了一个人：董事长兼首席执行官雷福礼。这个消息并不令人意外，因为上周早些时候宝洁已经宣布，雷福礼不会再参加季度业绩电话会议，公司希望能摆脱季度收益是否达到预期这样周而复始的比较。不过，问答环节只有首席财务官乔恩•默勒参加还是有点不同寻常：分析师和记者们通常都会利用这个环节，通过对公司领导人话语的解读来评估这家公司的干劲与士气（姑且不论这种做法是否公平）。 但要解读默勒却不容易。他是一位拥有多年经验的专业人士，也是一位沉稳可靠的管理者，长于提供数据。宝洁重申了全年计划，还发布数据称，内生性销售额增长率为4%，净销售额增长2%至212亿美元，基本与预期保持一致。继几年前竞争对手联合利华（Unilever）停止提供季度业绩指导值之后，宝洁也停止了提供此类预期。默勒宣布称，在近2/3的市场中，宝洁的市场份额正在增加。这是一项重要的指标，过去一年的大部分时间里，宝洁的市场份额都在呈现下降趋势（但当被追问到长期疲软的美容业务市场份额趋势如何，他的回答非常含糊。）他展示的都是事实，按分析师们的说法就少了很多“色彩”，而且，值得庆幸的是，他也不添油加醋。
公平地说，从电话会议的语调中解读或成功或失败多少有一点不靠谱。很多CEO会在这类电话会议上滔滔不绝地描绘美好的图景，结果日后由于无法兑现而被迫下台。有些CEO一开始并不那么能说会道、热情洋溢。而有些人，比如我，似乎也没有什么第六感，能解读出轻笑或停顿背后的真正含义。 那么，如果有可能，我是否愿意听到雷福礼在上周五早间的业绩电话会议上说点什么？那是当然。毕竟，他是公司老板，他是一名令人振奋的发言人和领导者。但假设他的确会通过其他论坛与投资者和记者们进行沟通，他是否出席业绩电话会议又有什么关系？我认为没关系，只要他在利用这些时间更好地理解公司的业务、发展公司的业务。股票市场显然同意这一观点；宝洁股价上周五基本持平，略低于80美元。（财富中文网） |
There was only one thing missing from Procter & Gamble's (PG) first-quarter fiscal 2014 earnings call on Friday morning: The CEO and chairman of the company, A.G. Lafley. That was no surprise, as P&G had announced, earlier in the week, that Lafley would no longer be participating in quarterly earnings calls as the company tries to get off the hamster wheel of meeting or missing quarterly expectations. Still, it was unusual to hear only the CFO, Jon Moeller, during the Q&A: Analysts and journalists alike typically use this period as a way in which to evaluate -- fairly or not -- the energy and morale of the company through the proxy of its leader's voice. It was hard to do that with Moeller, although, as a longtime pro and steady hand, he did his job of providing the numbers quite well. P&G -- which also has stopped providing quarterly guidance, following the lead of competitor Unilever (UL), which stopped years ago -- reaffirmed its full-year plans and posted organic sales up 4% and net sales up 2%, to $21.2 billion, roughly in line with expectations. He announced that P&G was gaining share in roughly two-thirds of its markets, an important indicator after much of the past year showed market share losses (he was rather vague when pressed on market share trends in the long-struggling beauty business, however). He presented the facts without too much "color," to use a favorite word of analysts, and, thankfully, not too much embellishment either. To be fair, it was always something of a fiction anyhow to imbue the intonation heard on a phone call with the import of success or failure. Many, many CEOs have waxed eloquent on these calls about just how wonderful things are, only to get booted days later because they aren't. Some CEOs just aren't that articulate or enthusiastic to begin with. And I, for one, don't seem to possess any particular E.S.P. when it comes to divining the true meaning behind a chuckle or pause. So would I have liked to hear A.G. on the call this morning? Absolutely. He is the boss, after all, and he's an inspiring speaker and leader. But -- assuming he does continue to engage with investors and journalists in other fora -- does it really make one bit of difference whether he speaks on the call or not? I say no, as long as he's using that time to better understand and grow the business. The stock market apparently agrees; P&G is flat today, at just under $80. |
