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This week brought earnings results from three pantry stocks -- Clorox Co. (CLX), Kellogg Co. (K) and Unilever (UL). While Clorox's strong second-quarter earnings beat the consensus estimates of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, Kellogg's lower fourth-quarter earnings fell short of expectations, and Unilever's earnings fell as well.
Clorox said net income totaled $110 million, or 77 cents per share, up from $86 million, or 61 cents a share, a year earlier. That was a penny per share better than the Street view. Revenue climbed 5% to $1.28 billion. Results benefited from fears over the H1N1 flu, favorable foreign exchange rates and lower commodity costs. Clorox, whose brands include PineSol, Hidden Valley, Glad and Kingsford, also raised its outlook for full-year earnings to a range of $4.10 to $4.25 per share, which is in line with expectations.
Kellogg posted quarterly earnings of $176 million, or $0.46 per share, down from $179 million, or $0.47 per share a year ago. Analysts had been looking for $0.49 cents per share. Earnings for the full-year rose 6% to $1.2 billion, or $3.16 per share. Fourth quarter net sales declined 1% to $2.9 billion, while full-year revenue fell 2% to $12.6 billion. The cereal and cookie maker also reported record cash flow for 2009, as well as forecast 2010 earnings in a range between $3.51 and $3.57, which is less than the consensus estimate.
Unilever, whose brands include Dove, Lipton and Vaseline, said earnings for the quarter fell 27% from a year ago to 831 million euros ($1.15 billion) and sales fell 4.8% to 9.66 billion euros due to pressure on consumer spending and restructuring costs. The London-based company said it expects continued pressure on consumer spending through 2010.
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