Clorox, Colgate-Palmolive Report Strong Sales as Consumers Stock Up on Cleaning Supplies

By Matt Grossman

The Clorox Co. and Colgate-Palmolive Co. on Friday reported strong sales growth in the latest quarter, as consumers stocked their homes with cleaning supplies and other personal-care items in response to the new coronavirus pandemic.

Clorox said sales of its cleaning products, which includes wipes and bleaches, grew 32% year over year between January and March. Overall, the company's revenue recorded a 15% increase to $1.78 billion in the period, the third quarter of its fiscal year.

Clorox Chairman and Chief Executive Benno Dorer said in prepared remarks that in addition to its "extraordinary growth" in its disinfecting products, the company saw broad-based growth across its lines, which include household products such as bags and wraps, lifestyle products such as food and dietary supplements, and international sales.

Consumer-goods maker Colgate-Palmolive also reported a surge in demand. North American sales of personal- and home-care products, which include Colgate toothpaste and Softsoap hand soap, grew 8.9% in the period compared with the same time last year, the company said Friday. Overall, Colgate's first-quarter revenue grew 5.5% to $4.1 billion.

Stronger sales in the period led Clorox to boost its estimates for its full fiscal year, which will conclude at the end of June. The company now expects to report year-over-year sales growth of 4% to 6%. In early February, the last time it offered such guidance, Clorox had said the year-to-year change in sales would be between 1% growth and a single-digit decline.

Colgate-Palmolive withdrew its guidance for the 2020 calendar year, citing economic uncertainty caused by the global pandemic.

"We expect some of the additional volume from the first quarter to come out of future quarters, as consumers work through pantry inventory in certain categories," Colgate Chairman and Chief Executive Noel Wallace said.

Write to Matt Grossman at matt.grossman@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 01, 2020 09:46 ET (13:46 GMT)

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