The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) shares added almost 8% in early trade as its fiscal first-quarter financial results were not as negatively impacted by a cyberattack on the company as investors had expected.
The maker of cleaning products in September warned in a regulatory filing that a cyberattack on its systems in August had disrupted its operations and caused product outages.
For the quarter ended September 30, 2023, its sales decreased 20% year over year to $1.4 billion, ahead of estimates of $1.3 billion.
The company noted the decrease was driven by lower volume as a result of the cyberattack, partially offset by a favorable price mix.
Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) decreased by 47% year over year from $0.93 to $0.43, a surprise profit as the Street had been expecting a loss per share of $0.20.
“After entering the fiscal year with solid momentum, the August cyberattack caused wide-scale disruptions that are impacting our short-term financial performance," Clorox CEO Linda Rendle said in a statement.
"Looking forward, our near-term priorities are clear: We are laser focused on rebuilding customer inventories, preserving merchandising activities, and ultimately rebuilding distribution and market share.”
The company also downwardly revised its full-year fiscal 2024 outlook due to the cyberattack. It now expects a decline in sales in the mid to high single digits. It had previously expected sales to be flat or up 2% year-over-year.
It expects its adjusted EPS to be between $4.30 and $4.80, representing a decrease between 16% to 6%, compared to its previous expectations of adjusted EPS of $5.60 to $5.90, which would have been a year-over-year increase between 10% and 16%.
Clorox stock had gained 7.9% at US$124.53 before the opening bell Thursday.
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