Shares of Clorox Co.
CLX,
jumped 7% in the extended session Wednesday after the maker of eponymous cleaning products reported quarterly profit and sales well above Wall Street expectations and called for higher earnings and revenue for the year as well. Clorox said it earned $176 million, or $1.42 a share, in the fiscal fourth quarter, compared with $101 million, or 81 cents, in the year-ago period. Adjusted for one-time items, the company earned $1.67 a share. FactSet consensus called for adjusted EPS of $1.17. Sales rose 12% to $2 billion, Clorox said, mostly thanks to a “favorable” price mix, which “more than offset” lower volumes. The analysts surveyed by FactSet expected sales of $1.88 billion in the quarter. Clorox called for fiscal 2024 sales flat to 2% higher, and for adjusted EPS between $5.60 and $5.90 for the year, which would be an increase between 10% and 16% over the previous year. “This reflects the company’s continued efforts to rebuild margin while maintaining topline growth against the backdrop of persisting inflation and a challenging economy for consumers,” Clorox said. The analysts polled by FactSet expect adjusted EPS of $5.62 on sales of $7.4 billion for fiscal 2024. Shares of Clorox ended the regular trading day up 0.5%.
