WD-40 Conference Call Highlights

Shares of WD-40 WDFC are down over eight percent following its third-quarter earnings release.

Below are some highlights and key takeaways from the company's conference call.

Growth:

• Net sales of $95.7 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2014, an increase of 3 percent over last year.
• Highest revenue quarter in company history
• Net income was $32.2 million
• Diluted earnings per share were $2.10, up 4 percent from $2.01 in the prior fiscal year.
• Strategic initiative number one is to grow WD-40 multi-use product
• We grew multi-use product sales 14 percent in the EMEA segment and 11 percent in our Asia-Pacific segment.
• Strategic driver number two is to grow the WD-40 Specialist product line.
• We continue to work on new formulations and delivery systems for future WD-40 Specialist products.
• We see WD-40 Specialist as a sustainable revenue and earnings growth engine for many years to come.
• Strategic driver number three is to broaden our product and revenue base.
• Strategic driver number four is to attract, develop and retain outstanding tribe members.
• Strategic driver number five is operational excellence.

Details of Performance:
• Homecare and cleaning products category accounted for 11 percent of global net sales.
• Year-to-date sales of our homecare and cleaning products were down 10 percent in the Americas.
• Sales in the Americas segment decreased 5 percent in the quarter but were up 1 percent year-to-date.
• The segment accounted for 47 percent of global sales in the third quarter.
• Total U.S. sales were down 5 percent in the quarter and are up 2 percent year-to-date.
• Sales in Latin America were up 3 percent in the third quarter and are up 7 percent year-to-date.
• Sales in China increased 24 percent in the third quarter and 7 percent year-to-date.
• We continue to focus on the long-term opportunities in China, but we expect to experience a lot of volatility.

Guidance:

• We therefore expect net income of between $41 million and $43 million
• A diluted EPS of between $2.70 and $2.83, assuming $15.2 million weighted average shares outstanding.
• We expect our fiscal year net sales results to be in the range of $380 million to $387 million