The Clorox Company today reported solid earnings for its second quarter, which ended Dec. 31, 2008.

"We delivered solid second-quarter results in a challenging environment," said Chairman and CEO Don Knauss. "Shipments were lower than our projections due to retailer inventory reductions and soft consumer demand in some categories. That said, the impact of price increases earlier in the fiscal year was in line with our pricing models. We continue to be cautiously optimistic about the remaining six months of our fiscal year. Overall, we remain well-positioned given the challenging economic environment."

Clorox reported second-quarter net earnings of $86 million—a 7% drop from the prior year. However, second-quarter sales grew 3% to $1.22 billion. Products from the Burt's Bees business, which Clorox acquired on Nov. 30, 2007, contributed three percentage points of sales growth.
 

For fiscal year 2009, Clorox now anticipates total sales growth in the range of 3-5%, rather than the previously communicated range of 4-6% due to retailer inventory reductions and consumer reaction to the economic environment.