Clorox jumps more than 4% after topping profit expectations

Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Colorox brand toilet bowl cleaner sits on display at a supermarket in Princeton, Ill.

Clorox shares jumped 5 percent before the bell Monday after it reported second-quarter profits that topped Wall Street’s expectations and reaffirmed its 2019 outlook.

The consumer goods maker posted adjusted earnings per share of $1.40, beating consensus projections of $1.30. It posted 4 percent sales growth in the second quarter, bringing revenues for the three months ended on Dec. 31 to $1.47 billion.

“Sound execution of our pricing and cost-savings plans has enabled us to address near-term headwinds, resulting in another strong quarter of topline performance,” said Clorox Chair and CEO Benno Dorer. “Importantly, we remain on track for sales and earnings in fiscal year 2019.”

The company said in a press release that it anticipates sales growth for fiscal 2019 in a range of 2 to 4 percent, driven by innovation that management expects to deliver about 3 percentage points of incremental sales. It expects fiscal years 2019 diluted earnings per share in a range between $6.20 and $6.40.

However, Clorox also said it expects tariffs to hurt its profits by 5 to 7 cents in 2019. The stock was down more than 2 percent for 2019 heading into the earnings, trailing the market.