WD-40 reported net income of $21 million for the quarter ending May 31, a 45% increase from a year earlier, while net sales for its maintenance products group also rose 45% year-on-year to $127.4 million in 2021. The company cited a recovery from the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic for its improved sales.
Earnings per diluted share were $1.52 for the quarter, up from $1.06 the previous year. San Diego-based WD-40’s fiscal year runs from Sept. 1 to Aug. 31.
The company enjoyed increases to net sales in all three of its segments. Its Americas segment net sales rose 20% to $60 million from $50.1 million in 2020, EMEA net sales increased 80%, to $58.6 million from $32.5 million, and Asia-Pacific net sales saw a 14% increase, to $17.8 million from $15.6 million.
The increase in sales can be partly attributed to a drop in last year’s numbers due to the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, the company said. Maintenance product sales increased in every region, particularly the company’s WD-40 Multi-Use product, driven by increased demand due to renovation trends also associated with the pandemic.
“The post-pandemic era is coming,” Garry Ridge, WD-40 chairman and CEO, said in the company’s earnings release issued July 7. “We do not expect to see sales growth of this magnitude over the long term, however, we believe that the new end users who have interacted with our products during the pandemic will become permanent users of our maintenance products.”
He continued: “To reflect the strong sales results we experienced in the third quarter, we’ve increased our revenue expectations and believe that net sales are likely to be in a range of between $475 million to $490 million for the full fiscal year which reflects year-over-year sales growth of between 16 and 20 percent. As things get back to normal post the pandemic, consumer spending patterns will change again, and we expect consolidated net sales to grow in the mid to high single digits.”