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Mar 31, 2022

Ecolab Q1 2022 Earnings Report

Ecolab's first quarter earnings reflected sales growth, driven by Institutional & Specialty, Industrial and Other segment sales, which overcame delivered product cost inflation and currency translation.

Key Takeaways

Ecolab's first quarter earnings were consistent with expectations, with sales growth driven by volume gains and pricing that overcame surging delivered product cost inflation. Sales growth accelerated from the fourth quarter, led by double-digit gains in Institutional & Specialty, Industrial and Other segments. Raw material and freight costs increased an estimated 25% versus last year, exacerbated by the start of the war in Eastern Europe.

Very strong first quarter sales growth, driven by strong volume gains and accelerating pricing.

Reported sales increased 13% versus last year.

Reported diluted EPS was $0.60, a decrease of 10% versus last year.

Adjusted diluted EPS was $0.82, an increase of 1% versus last year.

Total Revenue
$3.27B
Previous year: $2.89B
+13.2%
EPS
$0.82
Previous year: $0.81
+1.2%
Gross Profit
$1.19B
Previous year: $1.17B
+1.7%
Cash and Equivalents
$99.4M
Previous year: $1.19B
-91.6%
Free Cash Flow
$21.4M
Previous year: $193M
-88.9%
Total Assets
$21.1B
Previous year: $18.2B
+15.7%

Ecolab

Ecolab

Ecolab Revenue by Segment

Forward Guidance

The company expects combined pricing actions, along with strong volume growth and long-term productivity improvements, to yield second quarter adjusted diluted earnings per share approaching last year’s $1.22. They believe current pricing actions will result in accelerating earnings growth through the second half and deliver low-teens growth in adjusted diluted earnings per share for the full year 2022.

Positive Outlook

  • Focused on driving strong new business gains.
  • Focused on driving pricing.
  • Focused on driving margin improvement.
  • Leveraging innovation.
  • Leveraging productivity.

Challenges Ahead

  • Expect the impact of substantial raw material and cost inflation to increase further in the second quarter.
  • Expect the impact of substantial raw material and cost inflation to remain high for the balance of the year.
  • Rapid rise in energy costs following the start of the war in Eastern Europe.
  • Uncertainty in the timing of the realization of the surcharge.
  • Substantial cost headwinds.

Revenue & Expenses

Visualization of income flow from segment revenue to net income