New York — Procter & Gamble’s (P&G’s) drive to sell more upscale skin-care, grooming and house-cleaning products is beginning to show up in its bottom line. Sales of its premium brands helped lift earnings to $1.08 a share last quarter, excluding some items. Analysts had estimated $1.06, on average. The results reflect a crusade by CEO David Taylor to get consumers to pay a bit more for the items in their bathroom cabinets and kitchen pantries. P&G’s premium SK-II skin-care brand helped sales in the beauty division last quarter, and scent beads and Tide pods for high-efficiency washers boosted the home-care unit, giving the company a leg up on sellers of bargain health and cleaning products. "Over half of their product lineup is premium oriented, so with an improving domestic economy, those products are doing well," said Jack Russo, an analyst at Edward Jones & Co. P&G rose as much as 3.9% to $87.98 in New York, the most in almost three months. The stock gained 5.9% last year, trail...

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