Earnings per share declined to 53 cents per diluted share in WD-40s fiscal first quarter, compared to 56 cents per share in the year-earlier quarter. San Diego-based WD-40s fiscal year runs from Sept. 1 to Aug. 31.

First-quarter sales in the Americas declined 10 percent to $30.8 million, sales in Europe rose 13 percent to $30.8 million, and Asia-Pacific sales soared 61 percent to $11 million, all compared to year-earlier results.

Worldwide net sales for the WD-40 and 3-in-One lubricants segment rose 10 percent to $66.5 million for the quarter ending Nov. 30, compared to the same quarter a year before.

Garry Ridge, WD-40 president and chief executive officer, emphasized the growing importance of international markets. During the first quarter, 62 percent of our total sales were from outside the United States, Ridge said. The solid growth we have seen in markets like China, where we doubled our sales in the first quarter, is a result of us building our core business, coupled with significant promotional activity aimed at building distribution and increasing end-user awareness.