Clorox Q4 Results Top Estimates, Guides 2015 Below View

(RTTNews) - Consumer products maker Clorox Co. (CLX) reported Monday a profit for the fourth quarter that grew 12 percent from last year, reflecting higher gross margins and sales growth.

Both adjusted earnings per share from continuing operations and quarterly sales topped analysts' expectations. The company also provided initial earnings and sales growth guidance for the full-year 2016, both below the Street view.

"I'm very pleased with the company's strong performance in the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2015. Our strategy to increase demand-building investments drove profitable growth, with sales increases in every quarter of the fiscal year. It's also encouraging that our actions are creating momentum in our categories and driving market share gains across several brands," CEO Benno Dorer said.

The Oakland, California-based company reported net earnings of $191 million or $1.46 per share for the fourth quarter, higher than $170 million or $1.29 per share in the prior-year quarter.

Earnings from continuing operations for the quarter grew to $189 million or $1.44 per share from $171 million or $1.30 per share in the year-ago quarter.

On average, 15 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $1.37 per share in the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

The company noted that the sale of real estate assets by a low-income housing partnership contributed a one-time benefit of $0.06 per share in the latest quarter.

Net sales for the quarter grew 4 percent to $1.56 billion from $1.50 billion in the same quarter last year, and topped twelve Wall Street analysts' consensus estimate of $1.53 billion.

Currency neutral sales growth was 6 percent, reflecting price increases and volume growth of 3 percent amid gains in three out of the company's four reporting segments.

Clorox's cleaning segment net sales improved 9 percent to $465 million, and household segment net sales grew 4 percent to $580 million from last year.

Lifestyle segment net sales remained flat from last year at $245 million, and international segment net sales also remained flat with last year at $267 million, but grew 11 percent on a currency-neutral basis.

Gross margin for the quarter improved 270 basis points to 45.6 percent from last year's 42.9 percent, driven primarily by the benefits of cost savings, price increases and lower commodity costs, partially offset by higher manufacturing and logistics costs.

"Our focus on strong retail execution and productivity gains, including robust cost savings, drove significant margin expansion in the fourth quarter and fiscal year," said Chief Financial Officer Steve Robb noted.

Looking ahead to fiscal 2016, Clorox anticipates earnings from continuing operations in a range of $4.68 to $4.83 per share on projected sales growth of flat to 1 percent or 3 to 4 percent on currency-neutral basis.

The Street is currently looking for full-year 2016 earnings of $4.84 per share on annual sales growth of 2.0 percent to $5.74 billion.

"Our fiscal year outlook reflects a healthy core business and confidence in our strategy in the face of a continuing difficult environment this fiscal year. In particular, we anticipate declining foreign currencies and slowing international economies to impact our results," Dorer added.

In Monday's regular trading session, CLX is currently trading at $114.70, up $2.76 or 2.47% on a volume of 0.19 million shares after hitting a past 52-week high of $114.95 in early trading.