Higher costs, charges, lower demand and currency headwinds dragged down Ecolab's first-quarter profit by 44%, the company said Tuesday.
Before the start of trading, Ecolab said that it earned $57.4 million, or 24 cents a share, on the period, down from $102.9 million, or 41 cents a share, in the same quarter a year ago. On a "pro forma" basis, i.e. excluding items, the company would have earned 33 cents a share.
Revenue came in at $1.35 billion. It was down 8% due to the stronger U.S. dollar and what the company called "the effects of global recession."
The average estimate of analysts polled by FactSet Research had been for the St. Paul, Minn.-based provider of cleaning, sanitizing and disinfecting products to earn 33 cents a share on sales of $1.41 billion.
"We performed well in the face of a very difficult global economy and results netted out where we expected," said Douglas Baker Jr., chief executive, in the earnings report. "Our team did a great job delivering on key market share, pricing and cost savings objectives, and I am proud of their performance."
Looking ahead, Ecolab reaffirmed its full-year pro forma earnings target of $1.95 to $2.05 a share with "modest fixed currency sales growth in the second half."
Shares of Ecolab were up fractionally to $37.55 in early action.
