By Owen Tucker-Smith

Ecolab shares are on pace to hit an all-time high when the market closes Tuesday, with the water treatment company up 7% after it forecast strong earnings growth in the coming year.

-- The company, which develops technology to purify and clean water, projected adjusted earnings between $7.42 and $7.62 a share for 2025, with the midpoint landing above analysts' expectation of $7.46 a share. Ecolab attributed the upbeat guidance to growth trends in water, hygiene and infection prevention.

-- The company reported fourth-quarter sales of $4.0 billion, a 2% uptick from the same period a year ago. It reported fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.81 a share, slightly ahead of Wall Street consensus and 17% above adjusted earnings a year ago.

-- Citi analysts wrote that the 2025 guidance was driven by "compelling underlying factors," which would in turn drive up share prices. They added that macroeconomic trends "seem relatively balanced."

"Growth in the United States, our largest and most profitable region, continues to be very strong, and growth across the rest of the world is solid as we more than offset uneven macroeconomic trends," Chief Executive Christophe Beck wrote in a statement.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 11, 2025 12:21 ET (17:21 GMT)

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