Clorox posts 4Q profit, results top Wall Street forecasts, stock jumps

Clorox Co. shares jumped Monday after the consumer products company reported a better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter profit.

The company said that its net income rose 12 percent to $191 million, or $1.46 per share. Its earnings, adjusted to account for discontinued operations, were $1.44 per share, exceeding the $1.36 per share that analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research were anticipating.

Clorox's revenue increased 4 percent to $1.56 billion in the period, also surpassing market expectations. Analysts had forecast revenue of $1.52 billion.

The company said it benefited from improved sales, productivity and cost savings during the quarter.

Shares of Clorox rose more than 2 percent by early afternoon, amid a broader market dip, on the results.

Clorox reported a full-year profit of $580 million, or $4.37 per share, on revenue of $5.66 billion.

The Oakland, California-based company said that it expects full-year earnings to be $4.68 to $4.83 per share. Analysts polled by FactSet had forecast earnings of $4.83 for the year, or $4.84 on an adjusted basis.

Clorox shares have climbed slightly more than 7 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has climbed 2 percent. The stock has risen 25 percent in the last 12 months.

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Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on CLX at http://www.zacks.com/ap/CLX

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Keywords: Clorox, Earnings Report