Supply woes cut Clorox’s supplement sales, but sanitizer demand more than fills gap

Yesterday the board of directors for Clorox, which has a strong history of dividend growth, approved a 5% hike taking the dividend from $1.06 to $1.11 a share.  The company’s stock price also rose on the news that it had entered into a partnership with United Airlines to use Clorox cleaning and disinfectant products in a ramped up sanitizing and social distancing protocol program that the airline unveiled yesterday in an effort to woo back frightened travelers.  The Cleveland Clinic has also signed on as a partner in the program.

Clorox owns a number of dietary supplement and personal care brands including RenewLife, Rainbow Light, Natural Vitality and NeoCell dietary supplements and the Burt’s Bees line of topical products.  The company’s recent earnings statement Clorox stated that dietary supplement sales fell 2% in its third quarter, which the company attributed to a coronavirus-related supply disruption.

Overall sales for the company rose 15% in the third quarter, according to the earnings report. Sales in the company’s cleaning products division increased by 32% in the quarter.