ST. PAUL, Minn. — Strong U.S. and international sales increased Ecolab's fourth-quarter earnings by 30 percent to $113.4 million, or 45 cents a share.
The results included $11 million in gains from the sale of businesses in the United Kingdom and United States and a $300,000 corporate benefit associated with a business system investment.
Excluding one-time items, profit for the St. Paul-based firm was 40 cents a share, in line with analysts' expectations. Total sales rose 13 percent to $1.44 billion, $6 million above expectations.
Pest Elimination. In a release posted on Ecolab’s Web site, the company reported that U.S. Other Services sales increased 10% to $115 million in the fourth quarter benefiting from solid gains by both Pest Elimination and GCS. U.S. Other Services operating income declined 5% to $7 million as growth by Pest Elimination was offset by systems deployment and stabilization costs and a charge to exit an unprofitable customer contract in GCS.