[ACCESSWIRE]
Upcoming AWS Coverage on Church & Dwight Co. Post-Earnings Results
LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / March 9, 2017 / Active Wall St. announces its post-earnings coverage on Ecolab Inc. (NYSE: ECL). The Company announced its financial results for the fourth quarter fiscal 2016 (Q4 FY16) and full year 2016 (FY16) on February 21, 2017. The Saint Paul, Minnesota-based Company's quarterly operating income and diluted EPS surged, 73% and 80% y-o-y, respectively. Register with us now for your free membership at:
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One of Ecolab's competitors within the Cleaning Products space, Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE: CHD), reported on February 07, 2017, its full year 2016. AWS will be initiating a research report on Church & Dwight in the coming days.
Today, AWS is promoting its earnings coverage on ECL; touching on CHD. Get our free coverage by signing up to:
http://www.activewallst.com/register/
Earnings Reviewed
In Q4 FY16, Ecolab's net sales were down by 2% to $3.35 billion from $3.41 billion reported in Q4 FY15. Net sales for the reported quarter lagged behind market expectations of $3.43 billion.
The cleaning, food-safety, and pest-control services Company reported net income attributable to Ecolab of $366.3 million, or $1.24 per diluted share, in Q4 FY16 compared to $208.9 million, or $0.69 per diluted share, in Q4 FY15. The Company's adjusted net income attributable to Ecolab for Q4 FY16 was $368.2 million, or $1.25 per diluted share, compared to $366.7 million, or $1.22 per diluted share, recorded in Q4 FY15. Meanwhile, Wall Street had expected the Company to report adjusted net income of $1.27 diluted per share.
For full year FY16, Ecolab's net sales were $13.15 billion compared to $13.55 billion reported in FY15. The Company reported net income attributable to Ecolab of $1.23 billion, or $4.14 per diluted share, in FY16 compared to $1.00 billion, or $3.32 per diluted share, in FY15. Additionally, the Company's adjusted net income attributable to Ecolab for FY16 stood at $1.30 billion, or $4.37 per diluted share, compared to $1.32 billion, or $4.37 per diluted share, recorded in FY15.
Operating Metrics
During Q4 FY16, Ecolab incurred selling, general, and administrative expenses of $1.05 billion compared to $1.06 billion in Q4 FY15. The Company's Q4 FY16 operating income stood at $556.9 million, which was above the $322.8 million reported in Q4 FY15. Furthermore, the adjusted operating income during the reported quarter was $564.8 million compared to $566.7 million in the prior year's same quarter.
Segment Performance
Ecolab's Global Industrial segment's sales grew to $1.20 billion during Q4 FY16 from $1.18 billion in the prior year's same quarter. The segment's operating income also increased to $203.2 million, or 16.9% of segment sales, in Q4 FY16 from $196.2 million, or 16.7% of segment sales, in the year ago same quarter.
In the reported period, the Company's Global Institutional segment's sales were $1.14 billion, which rose 5% from $1.09 billion in Q4 FY15. The segment reported operating income of $258.8 million, or 22.7% of segment sales, in Q4 FY16 compared to $224.9 million, or 20.6% of segment sales, in the year ago comparable quarter.
During Q4 FY16, Global Energy segment's sales were down by 14% to $760.6 million from $885.1 million in the last year same quarter. The segment's Q4 FY16 operating income also declined to $98.3 million, or 12.9% of segment sales from $140.3 million, or 15.9% of segment sales, in Q4 FY15.
Cash Flow & Balance Sheet
During the year ended on December 31, 2016, Ecolab's cash provided by operating activities was $1.94 billion compared to $2.00 billion in the year ago corresponding period. The Company had cash and cash equivalents balance of $327.4 million as on December 31, 2016, compared to $92.8 million at the close of books on December 31, 2015. Furthermore, the Company's long-term debt increased to $6.15 billion as on December 31, 2016, from $4.26 billion as on December 31, 2015.
Dividend
In a separate press release on February 23, 2017, Ecolab' Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.37 per common share, payable on April 17, 2017, to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 21, 2017.
Outlook
In its guidance for full year FY17, Ecolab' management expects adjusted diluted earnings in the range of $4.70 per share to $4.90 per share, rising 8% to 12% y-o-y. The Company anticipates that the second half of the year would report better earnings growth than the first half. Furthermore, the Company forecasts adjusted gross margin, excluding special gains and charges, to be between 48% and 49%.
For Q1 FY17, the Company projects adjusted diluted earnings per share in the $0.77 to $0.83 range, with adjusted gross margin, excluding special gains and charges of approximately 47%.
Stock Performance
On Wednesday, March 08, 2017, the stock closed the trading session at $124.50, marginally falling 0.18% from its previous closing price of $124.72. A total volume of 1.08 million shares have exchanged hands, which was higher than the 3-month average volume of 946.31 thousand shares. Ecolab's stock price advanced 5.33% in the last three months, 1.25% in the past six months, and 20.86% in the previous twelve months. Furthermore, since the start of the year, shares of the Company have gained 6.21%. The stock is trading at a PE ratio of 29.96 and has a dividend yield of 1.19%.
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