Water technology firm Ecolab forecasts upbeat 2025 profit on resilient demand

Feb 11 (Reuters) - Ecolab ECL.N on Tuesday forecast higher-than-expected adjusted profit for 2025 and beat fourth-quarter profit estimates, helped by resilient demand for its services such as water treatment, cleaning and sanitization.

The company's shares rose 4.5% in premarket trading.

Ecolab posted better-than-expected results despite U.S. manufacturing activity contracting further in December after falls in November and October.
"Growth in the United States, our largest and most profitable region, continues to be very strong, and growth across the rest of the world is solid as we more than offset uneven macroeconomic trends," CEO Christophe Beck said.

The company forecast adjusted profit between $7.42 per share and $7.62 per share in 2025, compared with analysts' average estimate of $7.40 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Beck said that in 2025, the company hopes to grow its sales to data center, microelectronic, life science and digital businesses.

In the October-December quarter, the company's biggest segment, global industrial, which provides water treatment and cleaning products and services to large industrial customers, saw a 10.8% rise in operating income to $374.6 million.

Operating income in its global institutional and specialty segment, which makes cleaning and sanitizing products for customers such as quick-serving restaurant chains and food retailers, grew 18.5% from a year ago to $288.4 million.

The Saint Paul, Minnesota-based company posted an adjusted profit of $1.81 per share for the quarter ended December 31, compared with analysts' estimate of $1.79 per share.