Dive Brief:
- Hain Celestial's share price has been plummeting since the company announced two months ago that it will delay the release of its fourth-quarter and full-year financial results and will likely fall short of its previously reported guidance for 2016, according to Food Business News.
- Prior to the announcement, Hain's share price was $53.40, but that plunged to $37.25 following Hain's delayed earnings report. The company has since set a new 52-week low of $34.25 as of Sept. 28, amid fluctuations.
- The delay stems from an uncertainty in financial reporting concerning how and in which quarter management should account for concessions the company made to certain distributors last year.
Dive Insight:
Hain's fiscal nosedive may have come as a surprise to investors and other manufacturers considering acquisition. WhiteWave, a company of comparable size and success in the natural food and beverage sector, landed an acquisition deal with Danone in early July. The deal sent Hain's stock soaring as much as 12% per further speculation that Hain could be the next major acquisition target.
While at first Hain's accounting errors seemed a minor setback for the company, its continued delay of results has led to a delisting notice from the Nasdaq Stock Market at the end of August and an uncertainty in the company's fiscal future.
It's still unclear how much of an impact these accounting errors will have on Hain's final numbers for the fourth quarter and fiscal 2016, but they could damage the growth-driven narrative Hain has constructed for itself in recent years — a narrative in which high-single-digit revenue growth is a "high-class" problem.