Ecolab Q1 sales beats estimates on growth in life sciences segment
Investing.com -- Ecolab on Tuesday reported a 10% jump in first-quarter net sales, driven by accelerated growth in Life Sciences, Global High-Tech, institutional, and Specialty.
The company reported a 10% increase in sales to $4.07 billion during the quarter. It was well above the Wall Street consensus of $4.03 billion.
Its adjusted diluted earnings per share came at $1.70, 13% higher than the year-ago quarter and were in line with analysts’ estimates of $1.70 per share.
“During the quarter, we responded quickly to sharply rising global energy costs driven by geopolitical developments. We took decisive actions across our supply chain, procurement and operations to absorb cost pressures wherever possible. We also announced a global energy surcharge to mitigate the dramatic rise in energy prices. As a result, commodity costs are expected to increase in the high single digits starting in the second quarter and to remain elevated through the end of the year.
Ecolab said it continues to expect adjusted diluted EPS in the $8.43 to $8.63 range, +12% to 15%, excluding the impact of the pending CoolIT Systems acquisition for FY2026. Ecolab expects to quickly offset rising commodity costs by accelerating pricing, securing record new business wins, and improving productivity.
“In the near-term, the global operating environment remains unpredictable, including constantly evolving geopolitics and international trade policy, which are resulting in rising commodity costs and emerging challenges in the Middle East. Importantly, the company is very well positioned to quickly mitigate the impact of these challenges,” the company said in its earnings statement.
Expect adjusted diluted EPS in the $2.02 to $2.12 range, +7% to 12%. This range reflects a short transition period as benefits from the energy surcharge progressively build to offset higher commodity costs.