After another double-digit quarter of revenue growth, Linda Rendle, CEO of Clorox, told CNBC that the company is focused on developing new and innovative products to maintain the momentum it gained during the coronavirus pandemic.
The household products maker reported sales of $ 1.84 billion in the most recent quarter prior to opening Thursday, up 27% from $ 1.45 billion last year. Before the global health crisis, the company consistently achieved single-digit increases or decreases in the single-digit range.
Jim Cramer asked Rendle if the centenarian company could sustain growth after the pandemic.
“We believe that we can because we focus on innovation and ways to help consumers with these new habits,” said Rendle to “Mad Money”.
Clorox, which makes bleach, cleaning wipes, and other housewares, posted sales growth of at least 15% in four of its last five quarterly reports as consumers bought more cleaning products to fight off Covid-19.
Clorox expects to capitalize on new consumer trends that emerged as people spent more time at home responding to home orders and social distancing guidelines to help fight the Covid-19 outbreak. Clorox’s health and wellness business benefited in the most recent quarter, the company’s second in fiscal 2021. Health and wellness product sales rose 44%, followed by household sales growth of 22%.
Kingsford grill sales rose 15% in the past 10 months as families prepared more meals at home due to restrictions on restaurants across the country. People have established new habits that Clorox wants to serve, Rendle said.
“We will deliver innovations that inspire you,” she said. “We’ll be there with better solutions for both charcoal and pellets to please them.”
To keep up with the pandemic, Clorox has been operating factories around the clock and using third-party suppliers to meet consumer needs.
In addition to the strong quarter in which the company posted earnings of $ 2.03 per share, up 25 percent according to FactSet, Clorox increased its full-year revenue forecast, inspired by sales of cleaning products and disinfectants. The company now expects sales to grow by 10% to 13% compared to an original forecast of 5% to 9% growth. Earnings per share for the full year are projected to be between $ 8.05 and $ 8.25, compared to previously expected between $ 7.70 and $ 7.95.
Despite the jump in earnings and the forecast increase, Clorox shares fell more than 6% in Thursday’s session as the stock continued to retreat from all-time highs reached last year. The stock closed at $ 191.65, a 17% decline from its last high last week.
“We are committed to accelerating growth over the long term and we see a tremendous opportunity to do so,” said Rendle. “We see that consumers not only want to change the way they clean and disinfect, but also want to look after their home and have a better home experience.
“That is certainly a good sign for our portfolio.”