Companies across the food sphere report earnings this time of year, so Food Dive breaks down the latest earnings news all in one place.
Post's sales soar on successful acquisitions
Post Holdings, Inc. reported second quarter net sales of $1.05 billion, a 140.3% leap above $614.7 million from the same period last year. Profit hit $30.5 million, up from last year's $18.3 million loss.
The company saw an adjusted EBITDA of $149.2 million, a significant increase over $85.7 million in last year's second quarter.
Acquisitions have been the main driver in Post's recent successes, particularly PowerBar and Michael Foods Inc. Post officially completed its acquisition of MOM Brands on Monday.
Post is one of the companies that has been directly affected by the bird flu virus spreading throughout the country. Post announced an outbreak at one of its egg-laying farms late last month, and the company initially estimated that about 10% of its egg supply would be affected. However, that number is more like 14% as of the earnings report. The company improved its guidance for the year per its MOM Brands acquisition, but the company warned that if the bird flu situation worsened, it may have to adjust that guidance yet again.
Sprouts sales not up to snuff, per estimates
Sprouts reported a 19% sales increase in Q1 2015 compared to the same quarter in 2014. The company reached net sales of $857.5 million, which failed to meet estimates of $863 million. Same-store sales inched up 4.8%, but not the expected 5.6%. Adjusted net income for the grocer reached $38.6 million, up 9% from last year.
Sprouts CEO and president Doug Sanders remained positive despite missing analyst expectations. "Sprouts continues to be well positioned for today's growing number of health conscious consumers who are looking to eat healthier at affordable prices," he said in a statement. "In the first quarter, top-line sales growth remained strong for Sprouts, despite a difficult produce season, resulting in 32 consecutive quarters of positive comparable store sales growth."
The news comes after the company reported high sales figures in its last quarter.
Sprouts competitor Whole Foods delivered a sales increase as well in its first quarter, but those numbers also came in below expectations. Whole Foods could potentially be looking at taking a bite out of Sprouts' customer base with its plans for a new store chain, as any way to make products more accessible to consumers offers competition.
Both are looking at much competition in the U.S. organic foods arena, Business Insider points out.
Snyder's-Lance sees 8% net revenue increase, net income fails to meet estimates
Snyder's-Lance, Inc. posted Q1 net revenue of $402 million, an 8% jump over last year's first quarter.
Net income was flat for the quarter at $0.17 per diluted share excluding special items, which missed Wall Street's expectations.
The company slightly raised its 2015 outlook based on early successes for the year.
Snyder's-Lance is expanding into the health foods space in an effort to draw more consumers back into its snack business. This includes acquiring Baptista’s Bakery, a snack manufacturer known for "better-for-you" products, last May. In November, the company decided to pursue a higher investment for Late July Snacks, an organic chip company.
Earlier this year, the spin-off Clearview Foods, a new internal division for Snyder's-Lance, was also intended to help the company improve its position in the health foods market. These moves are all in addition to the company's own healthier proprietary products, such as some that are now gluten-free. This is a major shift for the snacks company and illustrates the health foods craze that has affected many companies in the past decade.