Procter & Gamble logged a lower profit in its latest quarter, as higher costs and sluggish sales weighed on its bottom line.

The maker of Crest toothpaste and Pantene shampoo also gave a soft outlook for the current fiscal year, forecasting profit and sales below Wall Street's expectations.

Chief Executive Shailesh Jejurikar said the past year brought a challenging geopolitical and economic environment and the company expects continued volatility ahead.

Still, P&G expects to make progress on its key financial measures, he said, with a strategy geared at offering better products at superior value. The company plans to fund its investments with a productivity program, he said.

"We are building momentum with consumers, and we are excited about the long-term opportunities ahead," Jejurikar said.

Fourth-quarter profit came in at $3.04 billion, or $1.26 a share, down from $3.62 billion, or $1.48 a share, a year earlier. The decrease was driven by higher selling, general and administrative costs, which more than offset a slight uptick in sales.

Adjusted earnings per share were $1.43, compared with estimates of $1.41 a share according to analysts polled by FactSet.

Sales ticked up 2% to $21.2 billion, missing analyst estimates of $21.38 billion. The company attributed the growth to foreign exchange and rounding effects.

Organic sales, which strips out the effects of acquisitions, divestitures and currency effects, were flat. The metric rose in P&G's beauty segment but fell in its healthcare unit and baby, feminine and family care division.

For the year ahead, the company forecast adjusted earnings per share will be flat to up 3%, to about $7 at the midpoint, compared with analysts' forecast of $7.02.

The company expects a headwind of about 56 cents a share for the year from a combination of hurdles such as higher raw-materials, energy and transportation costs, as well as higher net interest expense and unfavorable foreign-exchange rates.

P&G projects sales growth of about 1% to 3% for the year, implying sales of about $88.77 billion at the midpoint. Analysts forecast sales of $89.4 billion for the year.