Oct. 31 (Bloomberg) -- Clorox Co., the maker of its namesake bleach, reported first-quarter profit and sales that increased more than analysts estimated after the company benefited from sales of its new Burt’s Bees creams and Green Works products.

Net income rose 15 percent to $128 million, or 91 cents a share, and revenue climbed 12 percent, Clorox said today in a statement, helping push the shares up 2.7 percent. The company affirmed its full-year profit forecast and said sales growth will be lower than a previous projection.

Clorox said its brands Burt’s Bees, Green Works, Glad ForceFlex trash bags and Brita filters attracted shoppers amid th the U.S. economic slump. Chief Executive Officer Don Knauss said Clorox will monitor U.S. consumer spending that fell last quarter. Cost savings and price increases will offset higher material expenses this year, the company said.

“The results show that consumers are being brand-loyal,” said Jason Gere, a New York-based analyst with Wachovia Securities Inc. “The question is whether they will remain so going forward with the economic environment we are in. It’s Clorox’s job to hang on to that consumer.” Gere rates Clorox shares “market perform.”

Annual Forecasts

The company reaffirmed its forecast for full-year profit of $3 $3.60 to $3.75 a share. Fourteen analysts predict $3.71.

Annual sales will increase 4 percent to 6 percent, down from a previous forecast for growth of 6 percent to 8 percent, Clorox said. Currency declines of more than 20 percent against the dollar in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and Chile during the past two months led to the revised sales projection, the company said.

Full-year cost savings will be $100 million to $105 million, Clorox said. That exceeds its August projection of $90 million to $100 million, savings which the company said come mostly from manufacturing consolidation.

Clorox climbed $1.60 to $60.81 at 4:03 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares have lost 6.7 percent this year.

The company earned 95 cents a share excluding some restructuring costs and other one-time expenses, topping the 85- cent average estimate of 13 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. A year earlier, net income was $111 million, or 76 cents.

Sales Growth

Sales climbed to $1.38 billion in the three months ended Sept. 30, the Oakland, California-based company said. Eleven analysts surveyed by Bloomberg predicted sales of $1.34 billion, on average. Volume increased 4 percent. Excluding Burt’s Bees, shipments rose 1 percent.

Some shoppers have switched to lower-priced store brands as food and housing costs climb, U.S. job losses mount and the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression lingers. U.S. consumer spending fell at a 3.1 percent rate last quarter, the first drop since 1991 and the biggest since 1980.

People tend to stick with brands they trust to work, Knauss said in the statement.

In December, Clorox began shipping its Green Works line, made with plant- and mineral-based ingredients that are biodegradable and free of petrochemicals. That month, the company also &cls;bought&cle; Burt’s Bees, the maker of natural lip balms and hand creams, for $925 million, its biggest &cls;purchase&cle; in nine years.

To contact the reporter on this story: &cls;Carol Wolf&cle; in Cleveland at cwolf@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: October 31, 2008 16:05 EDT