UPDATE: Clorox Tops Q2 Estimates, Shares Surge

Shares of

gained more than 4% in pre-market trading after the company reported stronger-than-expected earnings for the second quarter. The Oakland, California-based company posted quarterly earnings from continuing operations of $128 million, or $0.97 per share, up from $118 million, or $0.90 per share, in the year-ago quarter. Its net sales climbed to $1.345 billion from $1.308 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.90 per share on revenue of $1.304 billion. Sales rose 3% in the cleaning segment, while sales in household segment climbed 5%. Lifestyle segment sales climbed 4% in the quarter, while international segment sales slipped 2%. The company's gross margin widened 10 basis points to 42.5%. "Clorox delivered solid first-half results," said Chief Executive Officer Benno Dorer. "In the second quarter, we delivered strong volume and sales growth, as well as improved market shares across several categories. Importantly, we continued to invest in incremental demand-building programs, which helped drive our topline results." For fiscal year 2015, Clorox now projects earnings of $4.40 to $4.55 per share on sales growth of around 1%. Clorox shares gained 4.65% to $112.70 in pre-market trading.