Clorox’s Net Soars 84%

Clorox Co. posted an 84% jump in its fiscal first- quarter net income, led by strong sales and volume growth in North America. The household-products maker, best known for its namesake bleach line, also Wednesday announced plans to sell its business in Brazil.

For the period ended Sept. 30, Clorox saw its net income surge to $145 million, or 65 cents a share, from $79 million, or 33 cents a share, a year earlier.

Clorox’s earnings easily exceeded its revised forecast. In September, the company raised its earnings guidance to a range of 52 cents to 55 cents a share, citing continued cost cuts and increased confidence in its product offerings.

In the latest quarter, the company posted an estimate loss of $13 million for the sale of its Brazilian business, which was classified as discontinued operations. Last year’s results included charges totaling 12 cents a share, primarily related to an asset-impairment charge for the company’s business in Brazil and costs to close a charcoal-making facility in Canada.

Excluding items in both quarters, the company’s earnings increased 42% to $158 million, or 71 cents a share, from $111 million, or 46 cents a share, a year earlier.

Sales, meanwhile, climbed 6.4% to $1.05 billion from $984 million a year earlier. Excluding the impact of divestitures, sales grew 8%.

Clorox’s shipment volume rose 3%, led by 7% growth at the North American household products division. Volume in Latin American and other tumbled 7%, reflecting ongoing weakness in Latin America’s economic conditions and the elimination of underperforming products.

Sales in North American household products jumped 11% to $628 million, but sales in Latin America fell 13% to $113 million. Specialty products, meanwhile rose 5.5% to $306 million.

Looking ahead, the company said it now expects fiscal 2003 earnings to range between $2.18 and $2.23 a share. For the second quarter, Clorox expects earnings of 43 cents to 45 cents a share, with low-single-digit volume and sales growth.

Clorox said it plans to implement the first phase of its “Project Delta” process- and systems-infrastructure initiative late in the second quarter. Due to the associated transition period, the company said it expects the timing of sales between its second and third quarters to be affected.