The Clorox Co. on Feb. 2 raised its diluted earnings per share outlook for the full fiscal year ending June 30, 2018, to include expected benefits from the new tax reform law, among other reasons.
The household products company now expects fiscal 2018 diluted EPS to be between $6.17 and $6.37, up from the previous range of $5.47 to $5.67. The S&P Capital IQ consensus normalized EPS estimate for the fiscal year is $6.13.
Clorox said the updated guidance, which is partially offset by lower gross margin, includes an updated assumption for a fiscal year benefit of about 70 to 75 cents from the tax reform. The effective tax rate for the full fiscal year is estimated to be in the range of 23% to 24%, down from the previous estimate of 32% to 33%.
The company's estimated 1% to 3% year-over-year growth in sales was affirmed, while gross margin is expected to modestly decrease due to higher commodities-related input costs and a "further tightening" in the transportation market.
The company also reported sales growth of 1% for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2017, while net sales totaled roughly $1.42 billion, up from the approximately $1.41 billion it reported in the year-ago quarter. Clorox's EPS for the quarter was $1.77, higher than the consensus estimate for GAAP EPS of $1.22 compiled by S&P Capital IQ.
