Ecolab Inc (NYSE:ECL) shares are trading lower after the company reported third-quarter sales growth of 1% year-on-year to $3.999 billion, missing the consensus estimate of $4.04 billion.
Organic sales grew 4%, led by strong performance across the business. Volume increased by 2%, fueled by successful new business wins and breakthrough innovations.
In fixed currency, Global Industrial sales grew 3% to $1.993 billion, Global Institutional & Specialty climbed 7% to $1.404 billion, Global Healthcare & Life Sciences fell 18% to $334.1 million and Global Pet Elimination increased 9% to $308.7 million.
Selling, general and administrative expenses remained flat year-on-year at $1.0 billion.
Adjusted operating income for the quarter increased 17% to $713.1 million, with an adjusted operating margin of 17.9% vs. 15.4% a year ago.
Adjusted EPS of $1.83 beat the analyst consensus estimate of $1.82.
Ecolab repurchased around 1.9 million shares of its common stock in the quarter.
The company held $1.26 billion in cash and equivalents as of September 30.
Outlook: Ecolab revised the FY24 adjusted EPS outlook from $6.50 – $6.70 to $6.60 – $6.70 against the consensus of $6.64.
Ecolab sees fourth-quarter adjusted EPS of $1.75 – $1.85 versus an estimate of $1.82.
Investors can gain exposure to the stock via VanEck Environmental Services ETF (NYSE:EVX) and Invesco Global Water ETF (NASDAQ:PIO).
Price Action: ECL shares are down 1.06% at $253.73 at the last check Tuesday.
Read Next:
Disclaimer: Investing carries risk. This is not financial advice. The above content should not be regarded as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation on acquiring or disposing of any financial products, any associated discussions, comments, or posts by author or other users should not be considered as such either. It is solely for general information purpose only, which does not consider your own investment objectives, financial situations or needs. TTM assumes no responsibility or warranty for the accuracy and completeness of the information, investors should do their own research and may seek professional advice before investing.