DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Clorox Co.'s (CLX) fiscal fourth-quarter earnings edged down
1.2% as the consumer-products maker saw margins weighed down by
steep commodity costs and warned those pressures are expected to
accelerate.
"In fiscal 2012, we anticipate substantially higher commodity
cost increases and other inflationary pressures than we saw in
fiscal 2011," said Chief Financial Officer Dan Heinrich. "As a
result, we will be taking broad price increases across our global
portfolio."
The company recently sought to fend off repeated advances from
activist investor Carl Icahn, who offered to buy the company while
suggesting other consumer-product makers put up their own bids.
Last month, Clorox's board unanimously rejected Icahn's latest bid,
saying the roughly $10.7 billion offer undervalued Clorox and
lacked credibility.
For the quarter ended June 30, Clorox reported a profit of $169
million, down from $171 million a year earlier. On a per-share
basis, earnings rose to $1.26 from $1.20 as shares outstanding
decreased. Earnings from continuing operations rose to $1.26 from
$1.05.
Net sales edged up 3.7% to $1.48 billion. Analysts polled by
Thomson Reuters expected per-share earnings from continuing
operations of $1.19 on revenue of $1.47 billion.
Gross margin fell to 43.5% from 44.3%, driven by higher
commodity costs.
Sales of cleaning products, Clorox's largest segment by revenue,
rose 3.5%. Sales in the company's household-products business edged
up 0.6%.
Shares closed Tuesday at $70.29 and were inactive premarket. As
of the latest close, the stock has risen 11% in the past year.
-By Mia Lamar, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-3207;
mia.lamar@dowjones.com