Procter & Gamble earnings beat Street

Procter & Gamble posted third-quarter earnings Wednesday of $1.04 a share, a 5% increase that topped analysts' estimates.

Analysts polled by Reuters had expected the company to report earnings of $1.01 a share on $20.68 billion in revenue, according to a consensus estimate from Thomson Reuters.

Net sales were $20.6 billion, which was unchanged from the same period last year.

The company's stock was down 1.6% to $80.61 in pre-market trading.

P&G said this month that it is selling its pet food brands-- IAMS, Eukanuba and Natura -- to Mars for $2.9 billion.

"We're making good progress on our productivity plans, with cost savings and enrollment reductions ahead of going-in targets for the year," CEO A.G. Lafley said in a statement. "We're confident that the cumulative benefits from these innovations and productivity improvements will lead, over time, to improved value creation for consumers, customers and shareholders."

The Cincinnati-based company sells products in beauty, grooming, health care, fabric care and home care and includes such iconic brands as Tide detergent, Crest toothpaste, Gillette razors,

P&G has vowed to cut costs to save $10 billion and is in the midst of a turnaround plan that includes focusing on its most profitable core businesses.