Clorox It warned Wednesday that its sales and profits took a big hit during the quarter that ended Sept. 30, largely due to the aftereffects of a cyberattack that significantly affected operations.
The maker of bleach and cleaning products said it expects net sales to decline between 23% and 28%. Clorox also estimates that its gross margin for the quarter will be lower than the same period a year ago. It expects to post a loss per share of between 35 cents and 75 cents. On an adjusted basis, it projects a loss of up to 40 cents per share.
Clorox also said the cyberattack, which it disclosed in August, continues to hurt production, although the effect is waning. “The company also expects to begin benefiting from retailers’ inventory replenishment as fulfillment increases” during the current quarter, he said in a statement.
Clorox said it is still evaluating what effect the attack could have on the current fiscal year and in the future.
The effects of the attack were large-scale, the company revealed in a stock exchange filing in September. While operating systems were being repaired, Clorox resorted to manual labor in many of its procedures, which slowed product delivery. However, the company has said that the threat is contained.
Scattered Spider, a group of hackers linked to recent cyberattacks on casino companies MGM and Caesars, is suspected of being linked to the August attack on Clorox, Bloomberg reported Wednesday. MGM also warned in September that the attack could have a material effect on the company’s finances.
