P&G Plans to Shed 100 Brands to Focus on Top Performers

Procter & Gamble Co., the world’s largest consumer-products company, plans to sell, discontinue or otherwise eliminate as many as 100 brands in the next two years to cut costs and focus on its most important product lines. The shares rose the most in two months.

The 70 to 80 brands that will remain have accounted for 90 percent of the company’s sales and more than 95 percent of its profit in the past three years, Chief Executive Officer A.G. Lafley said today on a conference call to discuss fourth-quarter earnings, which beat analysts’ estimates.