Strong Q1 Results for Ecolab

More signs that the economy is growing again is Ecolab Inc.’s strong first quarter earnings as sales improved, led by strong growth from Kay, Asia Pacific, Canada and Latin America, and costs were favorable as a result of savings actions and lower delivered product costs.

Ecolab’s reported net sales rose 6% to $1.4 billion in the first quarter of 2010; measured in fixed currencies, sales rose 2%. Net income attributable to shareholders increased 66% to $96 million.

“We are off to a good start in 2010,” noted Douglas M. Baker, Jr., Ecolab’s chairman, president and chief executive officer said. “We once again outperformed our end markets, and through our aggressive sales efforts, cost savings and efficiency actions, we turned in a strong earnings gain that exceeded the top end of our forecasted range.

“We are confident in our prospects for 2010. Our markets are generally showing expected improvement from 2009’s difficult environment, and we are stepping up our investments to drive growth within them. These investments include expanding our sales and service force, developing new innovative products and programs that provide better results and lower operating costs for customers, building infrastructure in key geographies to enable faster and more efficient growth and profitability, and looking at new ways to better serve our strong customer base. We are seeing returns from these investments today and expect much more as they progress, providing not only strong results in 2010 but positioning us for even better results in the years ahead. We believe we are in solid shape for the year, we continue to make progress on our long term growth initiatives, and we expect to continue delivering superior results for shareholders in 2010 and beyond.”

First quarter 2010 sales for Ecolab’s U.S. Cleaning & Sanitizing operations rose 2% to $632 million. Kay led sales results with a strong gain, while Healthcare sales were off slightly primarily due to the rebalancing of H1N1-related product trade inventories. Ecolab’s U.S. Cleaning & Sanitizing operating income increased 11% to $113 million.

U.S. Other Services sales declined 2% to $105 million in the first quarter. Operating income increased 11% to $15 million.

Sales of Ecolab’s International operations, when measured at fixed currency rates, grew 2% to $700 million in the first quarter. Asia Pacific, Canada and Latin America enjoyed strong sales growth while Europe/Middle East/Africa recorded a modest sales decline. Fixed currency operating income increased 46% to $37 million. When measured at public currency rates, International sales increased 12% and operating income rose 81%.

More info: www.ecolab.com