Clorox Profit Tumbles; Outlook Slashed
OAKLAND (AP) -- Consumer products company Clorox Co. says its fiscal second-quarter earnings slid 81 percent on a charge to write down the value of its Burt's Bees business and it cut its full-year earnings outlook.
The maker of Hidden Valley Ranch salad dressing, its namesake cleaners and other products earned $21 million, or 15 cents per share, for the period ended Dec. 31. That's down from $110 million, or 77 cents per share, a year earlier.
Excluding a $258 million charge, adjusted earnings rose to 68 cents per share. Analysts expected 46 cents per share.
Revenue fell 3 percent to $1.18 billion, narrowly missing Wall Street's $1.19 billion.
Oakland-based Clorox now expects 2011 adjusted earnings of $3.85 to $4 per share. Analysts predict $3.99 per share.
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