Clorox, a maker of cleansing products, said Wednesday it expects to post a first-quarter loss after a cyberattack in August caused product outages and disrupted supplies and operations.
“The corporate expects to experience ongoing, but lessening, operational impacts within the second quarter because it makes progress in returning to normalized operations,” it said in an announcement.
Additionally it is assessing the impact the attack may need on its financial performance in fiscal 2024 “and beyond,” it said.
The Oakland, Calif., firm is amongst several firms hit by cyberattacks since August, including gambling giants MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment.
Sources earlier told Reuters the MGM and Caesars attacks were by a bunch named Scattered Spider known to be expert at using social engineering to lock up a victim’s system and hold stolen data for ransom.
Bloomberg on Wednesday reported that the identical group was linked to the Clorox breach, citing sources. It wasn’t clear if the hackers had demanded ransom or used social engineering.
Clorox said it’s assessing the impact the attack may need on its financial performance in fiscal 2024 “and beyond.”Reuters
A Clorox spokesperson said the corporate had informed law enforcement in regards to the attack but had no further comment.
The FBI has said it’s probing the MGM and Caesars incidents. It declined comment on Clorox.
Clorox said in August that the incident had disrupted portions of the corporate’s IT infrastructure, forcing it to temporarily take certain systems offline and switch to processing orders manually.
The corporate expects a loss per share of between 35 cents and 75 cents within the quarter ended on Sept. 30, and for net sales to fall by 23% to twenty-eight% from a 12 months earlier. It had reported profit of 68 cents per share within the year-ago period.
The FBI has said it’s probing the MGM and Caesars incidents. Above, the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.AP
First-quarter gross margins, which Clorox had expected would increase, at the moment are expected to fall, it said.
The corporate’s shares fell 2% in prolonged trading after the outlook was released.
“The impact from the cybersecurity attack greater than offset the advantages of pricing, cost savings and provide chain optimization,” Clorox said.
