Procter & Gamble (PG) beats estimates for its first quarter

Consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) put up some impressive numbers this morning for its fiscal first quarter, reporting a 9% jump in profit. But the company did adjust its full year forecast slightly lower.

Going into this morning's earnings announcement, Wall Street analysts had been expecting the company to earn 99 cents per share, and the company reported an actual $1.03 EPS for its most recent quarter. This is a 12% jump year-over-year from its 92 cents earnings per share it reported for the same period last year.

Higher commodity costs continued to be a sore spot for the company, resulting in a decline in profit margins by 0.6% during the quarter to 50.5%. The volatility of the commodities market led the company to slightly lower its full year 2009 estimates, to a range of $4.15 to $4.25 a share, slightly lower on the low end from previous estimates of $4.18 to $4.25. Analysts estimates for the full year are $4.17 a share.

For the company's current second quarter, it expects to see earnings fall between $1.45 and $1.50 a share. Analysts were looking to see the company forecast $1.47 for its current quarter.

The stock is trading down slightly in the pre-market, currently down 0.3%, after posting a strong gain yesterday of 10.2% as it soared with the overall market.

Michael Fowlkes has worked as a stock trader for seven years and spent the last four years working as an analyst for the online investment advisory service Investor's Observer.