FX.co ★ Ecolab Touches New High After Upbeat Quarterly Results, Outlook

Ecolab Inc., known for its services and solutions in water, hygiene, and infection prevention, has seen an increase of more than 6 percent in its shares this Tuesday morning. The surge came after the company reported impressive fourth-quarter results that surpassed analysts' predictions. Notably, their earnings outlook for the first quarter also outperformed Street estimates.

The fourth-quarter profit saw a significant rise, reaching $405.2 million, equating to $1.41 per share. This is up from $264.4 million or $0.93 per share a year earlier, primarily thanks to increased revenue growth.

When excluding certain factors, Ecolab posted earnings of $444.7 million or $1.55 per share, which beat the average estimate of $1.54 per share put forward by analysts polled by Thomson-Reuters.

The company's revenue for the quarter also increased by 7.4 percent, pushing it up to $3.94 billion from the $3.67 billion of the previous year. This exceeded the consensus estimate of $3.93 billion.

Looking ahead to the first quarter, Ecolab anticipates adjusted earnings to fall between $1.27 and $1.37 per share. This is a significant increase as compared to analysts' projection of $1.12 per share.

For the entire year, they expect earnings to range between $6.10 and $6.50 per share, as opposed to the Street's expectation of $6.14 per share.

Presently, the shares of Ecolab Inc. (ECL) are priced at $217.70, peaking at a new high of $218.48 this morning.