Ecolab(US:ECL)2024-02-13 21:29Sales Performance - Consolidated reported GAAP net sales increased by 7% to $3938.4 million[46, 73] - Organic sales grew by 6%, driven by a 5% increase in pricing and a 1% improvement in volume[69, 73] - Institutional & Specialty segment led organic growth with a 12% increase, while Industrial segment grew by 3%[73] - Pest Elimination within the Other segment, experienced double-digit sales growth of 11%[25, 85] Segment Performance - Water segment sales increased by 5%, driven by robust pricing and new business wins[87] - Paper segment sales declined by 5% due to soft customer production rates[3, 85] - Life Sciences sales decreased by 8% due to comparisons against the previous year's strong growth of 18%[21] Profitability - Reported operating income increased by 48% to $590 million[33, 69] - Organic operating income increased by 21%[33, 69] - Reported operating income margin was 15%, while organic operating income margin was 16%, a 200 bps increase[33, 69] - Adjusted diluted EPS was $1.55, a 22% increase[69, 73] Financial Position - Cash from operating activities was $2411.8 million[39] - Capital expenditures amounted to $774.8 million[39] - Net Debt/EBITDA ratio was 2.4[39] Outlook - The company expects full-year 2024 adjusted diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $6.10 to $6.50, representing a 17% to 25% increase compared to 2023[70, 76] - First quarter 2024 adjusted diluted earnings per share is expected to be in the range of $1.27 to $1.37, a 44% to 56% increase compared to the previous year[70, 78]