The cleaning products maker expects adjusted earnings per share of $5.70 to $6.00 for the year, with most sales growth coming from its Purell acquisition
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Clorox $CLX projected a difficult fiscal year 2027 on Monday, warning that inflation and consumers focused on value would offset recent cost savings. The Oakland, California-based company expects net sales to rise 13% to 14% for the current fiscal year, with roughly 9.5 percentage points of that growth coming from its acquisition of GOJO Industries, the maker of Purell hand sanitizer.
On an adjusted basis, Clorox forecast earnings per share of $5.70 to $6.00 for fiscal 2027, representing growth of 3% to 8% over the prior year. Diluted earnings per share on a GAAP basis are expected to land between $5.41 and $5.71.
"We expect the operating environment to remain challenging, with continued cost volatility and a value-seeking consumer," Chair and CEO Linda Rendle said in a statement.
Gross margin for fiscal 2027 is expected to come in at roughly 42%, as higher-than-normal inflationary headwinds and unfavorable product mix are projected to more than offset cost savings, the company said.
The forecast followed fourth-quarter results that Clorox described as in line with its expectations. For the quarter ended June 30, the company earned $163 million, or $1.34 per diluted share, down from $332 million, or $2.68 per share, in the same period a year ago. Revenue fell 2% to $1.95 billion. Adjusted earnings per share were $1.66.
Organic sales — which strip out the impact of acquisitions, divestitures, and currency movements — were down 13% in the quarter, a result the company attributed primarily to a one-time comparison effect. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, retailers had placed advance orders ahead of the company's U.S. enterprise resource planning system transition, inflating the year-ago base by roughly 13.5 percentage points.
For the full fiscal year 2026, net sales fell 5% to $6.72 billion, and adjusted EPS declined 28% to $5.53 from $7.72. The ERP-related inventory drawdown reduced full-year adjusted EPS by roughly 90 cents, the company said.
Clorox completed the acquisition of GOJO Industries in April 2026, adding the Purell brand and a portfolio of health and hygiene products. The company said its global health and hygiene portfolio now represents more than half of net sales.
For fiscal 2027, organic sales are expected to grow approximately 3.5% to 4.5%, with more than 3.5 percentage points of that growth coming from lapping the prior year's ERP-related inventory drawdown, the company said.
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