Clorox Updates FY19 Outlook - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - The Clorox Company (CLX) announced the company now anticipates fiscal 2019 EPS from continuing operations to be in the range of $6.20 to $6.40 (previously $6.32 to $6.52), primarily reflecting the updated expectations for share repurchases and to a lesser extent more pronounced foreign currency and cost pressures. Fiscal year EPS also continues to include about 8 to 12 cents of dilution related to the Nutranext acquisition.

Clorox continues to anticipate sales growth in the range of 2 to 4 percent, driven by continued strong innovation, which is expected to deliver about 3 percentage points of growth, as well as about 2.5 percentage points of combined impact from the Nutranext acquisition and Aplicare divestiture. Clorox now expects gross margin to be about flat in fiscal 2019.

Based on lower-than-expected activity in the first quarter against Clorox's previously announced stock repurchase program of up to $2 billion, the company now expects to repurchase fewer shares than previously anticipated in fiscal 2019.

"The change in our EPS outlook is largely driven by our expectation for fewer share repurchases and to a smaller degree the impact of stronger foreign currency and cost pressures. We believe we're taking the right steps, including additional cost-justified pricing actions in Argentina and leaning into cost savings programs, to address these incremental near-term headwinds. Importantly, we remain on track to grow gross margin in the back half of the fiscal year," said CFO Kevin Jacobsen.

For the first-quarter, Clorox delivered earnings from continuing operations of $210 million, or $1.62 EPS — an 11 percent increase in earnings per share — compared to $192 million, or $1.46 EPS, in the year-ago quarter. Sales increased 4 percent, which includes 2 points of negative impact from unfavorable foreign currency headwinds and 3 points of benefit from the Nutranext acquisition net of the Aplicare divestiture. First-quarter volume also grew strongly in line with sales.