Clorox blows past Wall Street estimates in the fiscal first quarter

The Clorox Company (NYSE: CLX) reported its financial results on Monday that blew past Wall Street estimates for the fiscal first quarter. The company attributed its hawkish performance to the Coronavirus pandemic that fuelled demand for home cleaning and personal hygiene products.

The COVID-19 crisis has so far infected just under 47 million people worldwide and caused more than 1.2 million deaths. In separate news from the United States, Waste Management Inc. also published its earnings report for the fiscal third quarter on Monday.

Clorox’s Q1 financial results versus analysts’ estimates

Clorox said its net income in the quarter that concluded on 30^th September came in at £320.95 million that translates to £2.49 per share. In comparison, its net income was capped at a much lower £157 million in the same quarter last year, or £1.23 per share.

FactSet Consensus for per-share earnings in the first quarter stood at £1.79. In terms of sales, the Oakland-based company saw a 27.2% increase in Q1 to £1.48 billion versus a lower £1.36 billion expected, as per FactSet.

In the prior quarter (Q4), Clorox had registered £1.52 billion of revenue and £1.85 of earnings per share, as per the report published in the first week of August.

Clorox also said in its report on Monday that its sales from household products registered a 39% year over year growth in the first quarter while sales from health and wellness segment came in at 28% higher than last year. Barclays analysts commented on Clorox’s earnings report on Monday and said:

“Clorox just reported its best quarter since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is saying a lot given how strong demand has been for its products throughout.”

Clorox’s guidance for the fiscal 2021

For fiscal 2021, the U.S. company now forecasts £5.95 to £6.15 of earnings per share. It expects sales to jump by 5% to 9% in fiscal 2021. FactSet Consensus for Clorox’s per-share earnings and sales in fiscal 2021 stands at £5.97 and £5.37 billion, respectively.

Clorox was reported about 2.3% up in premarket trading on Monday. Shares of the company are now exchanging hands at £159.93 per share that represents a close to 35% growth in the stock market this year.

Clorox touched a year to date high of £183.67 per share in August. At the time of writing, the American global manufacturer and marketer of consumer and professional products has a market capitalisation of £20.20 billion and a price to earnings ratio of 28.18.