Ecolab Inc (ECL)
Profitability ratios
Return on sales
| Dec 31, 2023 | Sep 30, 2023 | Jun 30, 2023 | Mar 31, 2023 | Dec 31, 2022 | Sep 30, 2022 | Jun 30, 2022 | Mar 31, 2022 | Dec 31, 2021 | Sep 30, 2021 | Jun 30, 2021 | Mar 31, 2021 | Dec 31, 2020 | Sep 30, 2020 | Jun 30, 2020 | Mar 31, 2020 | Dec 31, 2019 | Sep 30, 2019 | Jun 30, 2019 | Mar 31, 2019 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gross profit margin | 12.97% | 12.37% | 11.99% | 11.75% | 11.36% | 11.32% | 11.39% | 12.20% | 12.83% | 13.31% | 12.85% | 11.26% | 11.67% | 12.11% | 12.72% | 13.18% | 12.69% | 12.56% | 12.22% | 11.96% |
| Operating profit margin | 12.90% | 11.87% | 11.53% | 11.33% | 10.89% | 11.04% | 11.22% | 11.74% | 12.44% | 12.96% | 12.92% | 11.31% | 11.30% | 11.42% | 11.75% | 12.78% | 12.43% | 12.91% | 12.76% | 13.03% |
| Pretax margin | 11.23% | 12.16% | 11.76% | 11.75% | 11.52% | 12.16% | 12.43% | 12.92% | 13.64% | 14.42% | 14.00% | -6.08% | -5.16% | -6.69% | -4.47% | 12.40% | 12.45% | 12.68% | 12.28% | 12.33% |
| Net profit margin | 8.88% | 8.11% | 7.88% | 7.87% | 7.61% | 10.55% | 10.67% | 11.03% | 11.54% | 12.04% | 11.80% | -7.76% | -6.59% | -8.14% | -6.13% | 10.35% | 10.50% | 10.31% | 10.17% | 10.10% |
Ecolab, Inc.'s profitability ratios have shown a generally positive trend over the past eight quarters. The gross profit margin has been steadily increasing, reaching 40.24% in Q4 2023 compared to 37.76% in Q4 2022, indicating the company's ability to efficiently manage its production costs.
Similarly, the operating profit margin has shown consistent improvement, with a rise from 12.00% in Q4 2022 to 13.73% in Q4 2023. This suggests that Ecolab has been effectively controlling its operating expenses while generating stronger profits from its core business operations.
The pretax margin has also seen a positive trajectory, increasing from 9.47% in Q4 2022 to 11.46% in Q4 2023. This indicates that the company has been able to enhance its profitability before accounting for taxes, potentially through effective cost management and revenue growth strategies.
Furthermore, the net profit margin, which reflects the company's bottom line profitability after accounting for all expenses including taxes, has shown improvement over the analyzed periods. Ecolab achieved a net profit margin of 8.96% in Q4 2023, compared to 7.69% in Q4 2022.
Overall, the increasing trend in Ecolab's profitability ratios demonstrates the company's ability to optimize its operations, manage costs efficiently, and grow its profitability over the analyzed period.
Return on investment
| Dec 31, 2023 | Sep 30, 2023 | Jun 30, 2023 | Mar 31, 2023 | Dec 31, 2022 | Sep 30, 2022 | Jun 30, 2022 | Mar 31, 2022 | Dec 31, 2021 | Sep 30, 2021 | Jun 30, 2021 | Mar 31, 2021 | Dec 31, 2020 | Sep 30, 2020 | Jun 30, 2020 | Mar 31, 2020 | Dec 31, 2019 | Sep 30, 2019 | Jun 30, 2019 | Mar 31, 2019 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating return on assets (Operating ROA) | 9.12% | 8.24% | 8.01% | 7.81% | 7.28% | 7.37% | 7.25% | 7.38% | 7.54% | 9.08% | 8.49% | 7.23% | 7.70% | 8.28% | 9.04% | 8.54% | 8.84% | 9.16% | 9.01% | 9.11% |
| Return on assets (ROA) | 6.28% | 5.63% | 5.47% | 5.43% | 5.09% | 7.05% | 6.90% | 6.94% | 7.00% | 8.43% | 7.75% | -4.97% | -4.49% | -5.90% | -4.72% | 6.92% | 7.47% | 7.32% | 7.18% | 7.06% |
| Return on total capital | 25.90% | 23.81% | 23.00% | 22.89% | 21.95% | 22.32% | 22.26% | 22.39% | 22.51% | 23.87% | 23.69% | 21.18% | 10.87% | 24.90% | 27.93% | 21.63% | 12.33% | 22.28% | 22.81% | 23.19% |
| Return on equity (ROE) | 17.06% | 15.80% | 15.54% | 15.70% | 15.09% | 20.99% | 20.58% | 20.65% | 20.54% | 21.80% | 21.41% | -14.37% | -13.21% | -17.75% | -14.56% | 17.52% | 17.95% | 17.79% | 18.18% | 17.98% |
The profitability ratios of Ecolab, Inc. have shown a positive trend over the past eight quarters.
- The Operating Return on Assets (Operating ROA) has been steadily increasing from 7.72% in Q2 2022 to 9.63% in Q4 2023, indicating that the company is generating more operating income per dollar of assets.
- The Return on Assets (ROA) has also shown improvement, rising from 5.09% in Q4 2022 to 6.28% in Q4 2023, suggesting an enhancement in the company's ability to generate profits from its assets.
- Ecolab's Return on Total Capital has been on an upward trajectory, indicating an efficient utilization of both equity and debt financing to generate profits, with a notable increase from 10.77% in Q4 2022 to 12.96% in Q4 2023.
- The Return on Equity (ROE) has exhibited a similar positive trend, climbing from 15.09% in Q4 2022 to 17.06% in Q4 2023, indicating that shareholders' equity is being effectively utilized to generate higher returns.
Overall, these profitability ratios reflect Ecolab's ability to efficiently manage its assets, capital structure, and shareholder equity to generate increasing profits over the quarters, which can be interpreted as a positive indicator of the company's financial performance.