Ecolab (NYSE: ECL) reported Q2 EPS of $1.08, in-line with the analyst estimate of $1.08. Revenue for the quarter came in at $3.32 billion versus the consensus estimate of $3.32 billion.

GUIDANCE:

Ecolab sees FY2016 EPS of $4.35-$4.50, versus prior guidance of $4.35-$4.55 and the consensus of $4.44.

Douglas M. Baker, Jr., Ecolab chairman and chief executive officer, commented on the quarter, saying, “As expected, we continued to show strong organic sales growth and margin expansion in our Institutional, Industrial and Other segments as they outpaced sluggish global markets. These results were driven by our robust innovation portfolio, strong sales execution and cost savings work, and more than offset lower results from our Energy segment, which reflect continued depressed operating conditions in the global energy industry. Currency exchange remained a significant headwind in the quarter.

“The good news is our energy and currency headwinds appear to be abating, and we expect better earnings growth in the second half. We look for our Institutional, Industrial and Other segments to show continued strong fixed currency growth as they build on new business wins achieved through our continued product leadership and sales execution. The apparent bottoming of conditions in the energy markets should yield narrowing Energy segment comparisons in the second half of 2016 primarily due to the weak prior year period, with the business positioned for a gradual recovery beginning next year. Further, forecasts suggest the second half will see diminishing currency headwinds.

“Our underlying business performance is solid and we remain confident in our future. We are focused on fundamental long term growth markets – food, water, energy and healthcare – and we are well-positioned as a leader in each, serving customers who are in turn leaders in their markets. We continue to invest in the key technology and service excellence drivers that enable us to solve critical customer problems and win new business. And we continue to effectively manage our costs and drive further efficiency in our operations. While the year has presented many external challenges, our focus on the fundamentals has enabled us to continue driving share gains and margin expansion, further improving our competitive advantage. We expect that our investments and actions today will yield superior growth in this year’s environment, and double digit earnings growth in the years to come.”

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Ecolab (ECL) click here.