Dive Brief:
- Hershey Co. reported fourth quarter net income ending December 31, 2016 of $116.9 million, a decrease from the $227.9 million it posted at the same time in 2015, according to its latest earnings report.
- Sales at the company totaled $1.97 billion, up from $1.91 billion year over year. They were up 3.2% in Q4 —and 0.7% for all of 2016.
- The company posted an EPS of $1.17 a share and expects full-year earnings in the range of $4.72 to $4.81 per share.
Dive Insight:
Chairman and CEO John Bilbrey said that Hershey's operating profit beat expectations and sequentially improved through the year. Sales were buoyed by Halloween and Christmas. Unfavorable currency exchange rates, however, knocked those figures down a few pegs.
Bilbrey said in the report that Hershey was also helped out by several new operational efficiencies, which will be discussed in more detail at an upcoming investor update. These initiatives led to lower selling, marketing and administrative expenses than had initially been forecast.
There have been big changes at Hershey this past year. After the chocolate giant came off of its $210 million purchase of barkThins parent Ripple Brand Collective in 2015, it acquired Krave Pure Foods for $250 million and worked to better position both in the marketplace.
In October, Bilbrey said he would be stepping down, but will remain as chairman. In December, Michele Buck, Hershey’s current COO, was named as his successor, and will officially become president and CEO on March 1.