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Sales Jump 16% at Clorox

Marketer remains confident despite the gloomy economy

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By: TOM BRANNA

Editor

While other household and personal products companies are predicting that sales and earnings will go down the drain in the current quarter, Clorox is confident it has the right product mix to weather any downturn in the economy.

Today, the company reported that its quarterly profit rose 15%, bolstered by price increases for its cleaning products, cost savings, and shipments of its new Burt’s Bee cosmetic items and Green Works biodegradable cleaners.

For its fiscal first-quarter ended Sept. 30, Clorox earned $128 million, or 91 cents a share, up from $111 million, or 76 cents, in the year-earlier period. Sales jumped 16% to $1.4 billion.

Clorox kept its fiscal year forecast but cut its sales growth target amid the decline in foreign currencies versus the U.S. dollar.

In North America, its biggest market by sales, Clorox said volume growth was driven by products such as Burt’s Bees, Green Works, Glad ForceFlex trash bags and Brita water-filtration systems.

It had lower shipments of its Pine-Sol cleaners, regular Glad trash bags, and its namesake liquid bleaches and toilet bowl cleaners.
The Oakland, Calif.-based company said it will still earn between $3.60 and $3.75 a share for its fiscal year that ends in June 2009. Yet, due to the current strength of the U.S. dollar, Clorox pared its sales forecast to a gain of 4% to 6%. It had forecast a gain as much as 8%.

Clorox shares have proven to be a solid defensive play as consumer spending has soured. The stock is down 6% so far this year. By comparison, the S&P 500 Index is down 35%.

“In tough economic times, people tend to turn to household brands like ours that they can trust to work,” Clorox Chief Executive Don Knauss said in a statement.

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