In May, Clorox (NYSE:CLX) was bleached out after a disappointing quarter. The boring consumer goods company, which competes with other giant snorers such as Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) and Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG), was taken to the cleaners again in the first quarter of FY 2006.
The big story remains higher energy costs affecting raw material and transportation expenses. In the latest period the cost of sales as a percentage of net revenues increased 1.4 percentage points to 57.8% over the same period last year. Compare this with competitor P&G, whose costs of products sold as a percentage of revenue remained flat at 48.4% in the most recent quarter, and it's evident that Clorox has a way to go to get to that kind of operating efficiency.
Clorox also trailed P&G on the top line with growth of 5.3% versus P&G's 8%. Without question it's the international market revenues that continue to drive growth for Clorox, with an increase of 21% in this quarter of the same period last year. Increased shipments to Latin America were highlighted as one of the reasons for the strength.
On a GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) basis, Clorox's earnings from continuing operations declined slightly to $108 million, a 0.9% decline from the year-ago period. However, because of a 2005 share-exchange program, Clorox's significantly lower outstanding share count resulted in a 24.6% increase in earnings per diluted share to $0.71.
Clorox manufactures well-known and widely used products, including KC Masterpiece, Kingsford coals, and its bevy of bleaches and cleaners. It's a solid company. And this is why it can be a nice anchor in an investor's portfolio. Nevertheless, when I'm comparing anchors, it's hard not to notice the impressive scale and performance of consumer goods giant P&G.
Procter & Gamble edges Clorox in top-line growth, with organic growth excluding acquisitions also at 8%. In addition, Procter & Gamble gets a nod for its better profit margins -- 13.7% compared with Clorox's 9.9%. Its profitability is one of the reasons that P&G's long-term debt has remained at roughly three times its cash & equivalents, as opposed to Clorox' long-term debt of more than 7.5 times cash on hand.
Clorox is certainly no chump. But for this Fool, the champ is P&G.
The Motley Fool has the goods on other consumer product manufacturers:
Colgate-Palmolive is a recommendation of Motley Fool Inside Value. Lead analyst Philip Durell believes Wall Street can't keep a good company down for long. Sign up today for a free 30-day trial and let him and the Inside Value team of analysts help you find intrinsically valuable businesses unjustly battered down to bargain-basement prices.
Fool contributor Jeremy MacNealy does not own shares of any companies mentioned.
