Ecolab 1Q Net Up on Rising Demand

By Rob Curran

Ecolab said first-quarter earnings rose 36% as demand for laboratory services heated up, offsetting the impact of inflation.

The St. Paul, Minn., provider of water-treatment and hygiene goods and services said net income for the quarter ended March 31 rose to $233.4 million, or 82 cents a share, from $171.9 million, or 60 cents a share, a year earlier. Stripping out certain one-off items, Ecolab logged adjusted first-quarter earnings of 88 cents a share, surpassing the mean Wall Street estimate of 86 cents a share, as tallied by FactSet.

First-quarter sales rose 9% to $3.57 billion, topping the average Wall Street peg of $3.48 billion.

"While the macroeconomic headwinds and inflationary pressures are expected to persist," the company's strategy should drive "robust sales growth," said Chairman and Chief Executive Christophe Beck, in a statement.

Other providers of laboratory services, including IDEXX Laboratories, have also reported strong revenue growth.

Write to Rob Curran at rob.curran@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 02, 2023 08:35 ET (12:35 GMT)

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