Topic: How To Invest

Hi, Pat: Could you please offer your opinion on Ecolab Inc.? Thank you very much.

Article Excerpt

Ecolab Inc., $115.90, symbol ECL on New York (Shares outstanding: 297.4 million; Market cap: $34.6 billion; www.ecolab.com), makes chemicals for a variety of industrial uses, including cleaning, food purification, pest control and water treatment. The company sells these products through three main divisions: Global Industrial (35% of 2014 revenue) serves customers in the water, food and beverage, paper and commercial laundry businesses Global Institutional (30%) sells its products to restaurants, hotels, schools and hospitals; Global Energy (30%) makes chemicals for oil and natural gas exploration firms, oil refineries and pipeline operators. Ecolab gets the remaining 5% of its revenue by supplying pest-control products and equipment-maintenance services. In 2014, the company’s revenue rose 7.7%, to a record $14.3 billion from $13.3 billion in 2013. That’s partly due to Champion Technologies, a maker of specialty chemicals and related products for oil and gas drillers that Ecolab bought for $2.1 billion in April 2013. The company gets 49% of its revenue from customers outside of the U.S. If you disregard…