Clorox Q2 Profit Rises, Lifts Full Year Forecast - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Consumer products maker Clorox Co. (CLX) Wednesday said second-quarter net earnings rose to $125 million from $115 million in the previous year.

Earnings per share advanced to $0.95 from $0.87. Earnings per share from continuing operations were $0.97, compared to $0.90 last year.

On average, 16 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.90 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Net sales grew to $1.345 billion from $1.308 billion in the prior year, driven primarily by higher volume and price increases, partially offset by the impact of 3 percentage points from unfavorable foreign currency exchange rates. On a currency-neutral basis, sales grew 6 percent from last year. Analysts expected revenues of $ 1.31 billion.

Chief Executive Officer Benno Dorer said, "In the second quarter, we delivered strong volume and sales growth, as well as improved market shares across several categories. Importantly, we continued to invest in incremental demand-building programs, which helped drive our topline results."

Looking ahead to the full year, the company now expects earnings per share from continuing operations of $4.40 to $4.55, compared to its prior forecast of $4.35 to $4.50 per share. Analysts expect earnings per share of $ 4.46 .

The company expects sales growth to be about 1 percent, compared to previous projection of about flat.

CLX, which closed down 0.1 percent on Tuesday at $ 107.69, gained 5.8 percent in pre-market activity.