Nalco Holding Co.'s (NLC) second-quarter profit grew 3% as the
water-treatment company reported revenue rose in all segments, led
by paper services.
The latest results will likely be one of the last Nalco will
report as a publicly traded company. Last month, cleaning-products
company Ecolab Inc. (ECL) agreed to pay $5.38 billion to buy Nalco,
which makes chemicals used in water treatment, pollution control
and energy conservation. The deal is expected to close in the
fourth quarter.
Nalco is broadly expected to benefit from economic improvements
over the next few years, which would boost industrial demand for
water, as well as lift energy costs, further stressing water-scarce
regions. Ecolab said the deal will help the combined company
address the global market for water treatment and management.
Nalco reported earnings of $58.4 million, or 42 cents a share,
up from $56.7 million, or 41 cents a share, a year earlier.
Excluding items, earnings rose to 47 cents a share. Sales climbed
8.2% to $1.18 billion.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected a per-share profit
of 38 cents on revenue of $1.13 billion.
Paper services revenue rose 17%, while water services climbed
14% and energy services edged up 0.1%.
The company said its price increases are on track to fully
offset raw material and freight headwinds by the end of the current
quarter.
Shares closed Tuesday at $33.43 and were inactive premarket. The
stock is up 4.7% so far this year.
-By John Kell and Lauren Pollock, Dow Jones Newswires;
212-416-2356; lauren.pollock@dowjones.com