Worldwide sales of the lubricants WD-40 and 3-in-One climbed 14.9 percent to $65.9 million for the first quarter ending Nov. 30, compared to the year-earlier period.
WD-40 on Jan. 7 said net income rose 24.2 percent to $7.7 million for the quarter, compared to the same quarter a year ago. Earnings per share were 46 cents per diluted share in the first quarter, compared to 37 cents per diluted share in the same quarter a year earlier. San Diego-based WD-40s fiscal year runs from Sept. 1 to Aug. 31.
The company reported total net sales of $83.6 million for the quarter, up 5.5 percent compared to the year-earlier period. In the Americas, the companys first quarter sales rose 4.5 percent to $45.5 million; Europe sales were up 6.1 percent to $30.1 million; and Asia-Pacific sales rose 10.3 percent to $7.9 million, all compared to the year-earlier quarter.
Garry Ridge, WD-40 company president and CEO, said that while the company met expectations for the quarter and posted solid growth across its international regions, it did not come without challenges.
We continue to be impacted by the changing global economy and costs of raw materials, Ridge said. We continue to see fluctuations in our cost of raw products, and while the price of oil is down, we are just starting to see that flow into the costs of our finished goods. We are also not seeing the benefits of the softening in overall steel prices because our primary cost is in the tinplate we use for aerosol cans, which has risen substantially.