Ecolab (NYSE: ECL) reported Q2 EPS of $1.22, $0.01 better than the analyst estimate of $1.21. Revenue for the quarter came in at $3.16 billion versus the consensus estimate of $3.1 billion.

CEO commentCommenting on the quarter, Christophe Beck, Ecolab’s president and chief executive officer, said, “We delivered very strong growth in the second quarter consistent with our expectations, led by a doubling in our U.S. Institutional business which significantly outperformed broader industry trends. We leveraged recovering markets with new business wins and new products to deliver very strong 12% acquisition adjusted fixed currency sales growth. These robust gains, along with accelerating pricing, more than offset increased delivered product costs and the slower pace of reopenings outside the U.S., yielding the strong 88% adjusted earnings per share growth.

“We continue to expect a strong performance in 2021. We expect the U.S. recovery to continue, Europe to reopen as forecasted and the rest of the world to follow soon after. While the recent rise in COVID-19 variant infections and higher inflation may present near-term challenges, we have once again taken the right actions to address these, including accelerating pricing, driving new business gains, and delivering productivity and efficiency improvements. The strong pricing actions we have already undertaken in 2021 remain ahead of input costs, and pricing will provide further coverage as it builds through the second half. We expect a continued strong year-on-year performance in the second half of 2021, with attractive sequential improvement in the third quarter and more significant comparative gains in the fourth quarter as pricing actions have an increasing benefit. We continue to expect full year 2021 earnings per share above 2019 earnings per share from continuing operations, excluding the estimated $0.15 per share impact of the Texas freeze.

“Building on the investments we made in new products and programs, our strong sales and services teams and digital technology throughout 2020’s complex environment, we continue to believe we are very well-positioned for the global recovery as we leverage the world’s rising sustainability, food safety and hygiene standards. We remain confident in our long-term outlook and continue to invest in the fundamental drivers for our business, and through these ongoing investments, expect to deliver better customer outcomes and improved value for our shareholders.”

GUIDANCE:

We expect the U.S. recovery to continue, Europe to reopen as forecasted, the rest of the world to follow soon after, and a continued higher cost environment. We have implemented strong pricing actions in 2021 that remain ahead of input costs, and pricing will provide further coverage as it builds through the second half. Our new business and innovation pipelines are at record levels; new focus areas, including life sciences, data centers and animal health, are well-positioned to drive growth and global leadership; and our leading digital capabilities are continuing to broaden, develop and add competitive advantages.

We expect continued strong year-on-year performance in the second half of 2021, with attractive sequential earnings improvement in the third quarter and more significant comparative gains in the fourth quarter as pricing actions have an increasing benefit. We continue to look for full year 2021 diluted earnings per share to exceed 2019 diluted earnings per share from continuing operations, excluding the $0.15 per share impact from the Texas freeze.

Our strong business momentum, along with our leading world-class solutions that help customers solve their operating problems and achieve their ESG ambitions, provide us with the confidence that Ecolab will continue delivering strong, consistent growth for many years to come.

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