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Why Is Ecolab (ECL) Down 7.5% Since Last Earnings Report?
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It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Ecolab (ECL - Free Report) . Shares have lost about 7.5% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500.
Will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Ecolab due for a breakout? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important catalysts.
Ecolab's Q1 Earnings in Line, Revenues Beat Estimates
Ecolab reported first-quarter 2022 adjusted earnings per share of 82 cents, up by a penny year over year. The bottom line was in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate.
GAAP earnings per share for the quarter was 60 cents, down 10.4% from the year-earlier figure.
Revenue Details
Revenues grossed $3.27 billion in the reported quarter, up 13.2% year over year. The metric surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.8%.
Ecolab’s fixed currency sales increased 16% and acquisition-adjusted fixed currency sales increased 12% from the prior-year period’s level.
The year-over-year uptick in the first-quarter top line was driven by improved volume gains and rapidly increasing pricing. On a sequential basis, sales growth improved on the back of double-digit gains in Ecolab’s Institutional & Specialty, Industrial and Other segments.
Segmental Analysis
The Global Industrial segment’s fixed currency sales of $1.56 billion reflect 12.4% reported growth whereas acquisition-adjusted fixed currency sales inched up 12% year over year. Strong double-digit growth was witnessed across all divisions on the back of accelerating structural pricing and new business wins.
The Global Institutional & Specialty arm’s fixed currency sales of $1.01 billion reflect reported growth of 19.1%, whereas acquisition-adjusted fixed currency sales surged 19% year over year. The improvement in the Institutional division reflected improved volume gains, good new business wins, new innovation and structural pricing despite a stalled recovery in restaurant and lodging activity due to extended pandemic-led impacts, and customer staffing shortages. Specialty sales showed robust growth on strong quickservice sales despite being partially offset by lower food retail sales, partly due to customer staffing shortages impacting cleaning intensity.
The Global Healthcare and Life Sciences arm’s fixed currency sales of $362.6 million improved 28.9% while acquisition-adjusted fixed currency sales fell 7% year over year.
The Other segment’s fixed currency sales of $296 million improved 11.5% on a reported basis while acquisition-adjusted fixed currency sales jumped 12% year over year. The uptick was led by double-digit gains in Pest Elimination and Textile Care businesses.
Margin Analysis
In the quarter under review, Ecolab’s gross profit improved 1.7% to $1.19 billion. However, gross margin contracted 413 basis points (bps) to 36.5%.
Selling, general and administrative expenses rose 6% to $914.7 million, year over year.
Adjusted operating profit totaled $278.6 million, declining 10.2% from the prior-year quarter’s level. Adjusted operating margin in the quarter also contracted 222 bps to 8.5%.
Financial Position
Ecolab exited first-quarter 2022 with cash and cash equivalents of $99.4 million compared with $359.9 million at the end of 2021. Total debt at the end of first-quarter 2022 was $8.760 billion compared with $8.758 billion at the end of 2021.
Meanwhile, Ecolab has a consistent dividend-paying history, with five-year annualized dividend growth being 6.03%.
Guidance
Ecolab has not initiated either quarterly or full-year 2022 outlook due to continued uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, besides the full scope of its impact on the global economy and the duration of the same.
However, the company expects to be impacted by substantial raw material and cost inflation, which is likely to increase further in the second quarter and remain high for the remainder of the year.
Despite the substantial cost headwinds, Ecolab expects its combined pricing actions (including its ongoing structural pricing and the energy surcharge), along with strong volume growth and long-term productivity improvements, to yield second-quarter adjusted earnings per share that comes close to last year’s $1.22. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the metric is currently pegged at $1.25 per share.
How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?
In the past month, investors have witnessed a downward trend in estimates review.
The consensus estimate has shifted -5.21% due to these changes.
VGM Scores
At this time, Ecolab has a nice Growth Score of B, though it is lagging a lot on the Momentum Score front with a D. Following the exact same course, the stock was allocated a grade of D on the value side, putting it in the bottom 40% for this investment strategy.
Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of C. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.
Outlook
Estimates have been broadly trending downward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions indicates a downward shift. Notably, Ecolab has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.
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Why Is Ecolab (ECL) Down 7.5% Since Last Earnings Report?
It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Ecolab (ECL - Free Report) . Shares have lost about 7.5% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500.
Will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Ecolab due for a breakout? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important catalysts.
Ecolab's Q1 Earnings in Line, Revenues Beat Estimates
Ecolab reported first-quarter 2022 adjusted earnings per share of 82 cents, up by a penny year over year. The bottom line was in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate.
GAAP earnings per share for the quarter was 60 cents, down 10.4% from the year-earlier figure.
Revenue Details
Revenues grossed $3.27 billion in the reported quarter, up 13.2% year over year. The metric surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.8%.
Ecolab’s fixed currency sales increased 16% and acquisition-adjusted fixed currency sales increased 12% from the prior-year period’s level.
The year-over-year uptick in the first-quarter top line was driven by improved volume gains and rapidly increasing pricing. On a sequential basis, sales growth improved on the back of double-digit gains in Ecolab’s Institutional & Specialty, Industrial and Other segments.
Segmental Analysis
The Global Industrial segment’s fixed currency sales of $1.56 billion reflect 12.4% reported growth whereas acquisition-adjusted fixed currency sales inched up 12% year over year. Strong double-digit growth was witnessed across all divisions on the back of accelerating structural pricing and new business wins.
The Global Institutional & Specialty arm’s fixed currency sales of $1.01 billion reflect reported growth of 19.1%, whereas acquisition-adjusted fixed currency sales surged 19% year over year. The improvement in the Institutional division reflected improved volume gains, good new business wins, new innovation and structural pricing despite a stalled recovery in restaurant and lodging activity due to extended pandemic-led impacts, and customer staffing shortages. Specialty sales showed robust growth on strong quickservice sales despite being partially offset by lower food retail sales, partly due to customer staffing shortages impacting cleaning intensity.
The Global Healthcare and Life Sciences arm’s fixed currency sales of $362.6 million improved 28.9% while acquisition-adjusted fixed currency sales fell 7% year over year.
The Other segment’s fixed currency sales of $296 million improved 11.5% on a reported basis while acquisition-adjusted fixed currency sales jumped 12% year over year. The uptick was led by double-digit gains in Pest Elimination and Textile Care businesses.
Margin Analysis
In the quarter under review, Ecolab’s gross profit improved 1.7% to $1.19 billion. However, gross margin contracted 413 basis points (bps) to 36.5%.
Selling, general and administrative expenses rose 6% to $914.7 million, year over year.
Adjusted operating profit totaled $278.6 million, declining 10.2% from the prior-year quarter’s level. Adjusted operating margin in the quarter also contracted 222 bps to 8.5%.
Financial Position
Ecolab exited first-quarter 2022 with cash and cash equivalents of $99.4 million compared with $359.9 million at the end of 2021. Total debt at the end of first-quarter 2022 was $8.760 billion compared with $8.758 billion at the end of 2021.
Meanwhile, Ecolab has a consistent dividend-paying history, with five-year annualized dividend growth being 6.03%.
Guidance
Ecolab has not initiated either quarterly or full-year 2022 outlook due to continued uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, besides the full scope of its impact on the global economy and the duration of the same.
However, the company expects to be impacted by substantial raw material and cost inflation, which is likely to increase further in the second quarter and remain high for the remainder of the year.
Despite the substantial cost headwinds, Ecolab expects its combined pricing actions (including its ongoing structural pricing and the energy surcharge), along with strong volume growth and long-term productivity improvements, to yield second-quarter adjusted earnings per share that comes close to last year’s $1.22. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the metric is currently pegged at $1.25 per share.
How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?
In the past month, investors have witnessed a downward trend in estimates review.
The consensus estimate has shifted -5.21% due to these changes.
VGM Scores
At this time, Ecolab has a nice Growth Score of B, though it is lagging a lot on the Momentum Score front with a D. Following the exact same course, the stock was allocated a grade of D on the value side, putting it in the bottom 40% for this investment strategy.
Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of C. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.
Outlook
Estimates have been broadly trending downward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions indicates a downward shift. Notably, Ecolab has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.