US meats and bakery company Hillshire Brands swung to a profit in the first quarter of the financial year.
For the three months ended 29 September, Hillshire earned US$53m compared to a net loss of $218m a year earlier, the company reported today (1 November).
Operating profit amounted to $87m versus $27m in the comparable period last year.
Net sales, however, fell 1.4% to $1.01bn. Stripping out the impact of its businesses sold in the past year, sales would have grown 2%.
Hillshire said it still expects fiscal 2013 earnings of $1.40 to $1.55 per share.
HILLSHIRE BRANDS POSTS STRONG RESULTS TO START FISCAL YEAR 2013
DOWNERS GROVE, IL (Nov. 1, 2012) - The Hillshire Brands Company (NYSE: HSH) today reported earnings for its first quarter of fiscal year 2013.
First Quarter Highlights (continuing operations)
Adjusted diluted EPS increased by $0.19 to $0.51; reported diluted EPS increased $0.31 to $0.41
Adjusted net sales increased by 2% to $1.01 billion; reported net sales declined 1.4%
Adjusted operating income increased 76.3% to $105 million; reported operating income increased $60 million to $87 million
Strong performance in the Retail segment, with sales growth of 3% and adjusted operating segment income growth of 45.5%
CEO Perspective "I am very pleased with our first quarter performance," said Sean Connolly, chief executive officer, The Hillshire Brands Company. "Our volumes are moving in the right direction, our key brands are gaining strength, our costs are coming down and our team is markedly stronger. Overall, we are off to an
encouraging start against our three-year plan to build a consistently growing and more profitable branded food company."
He added, "While we are pleased with this progress, we recognize that we are only one quarter into our year. We want to wait for greater visibility into the cost picture and see our momentum continue to develop further before making any changes to our outlook. Accordingly, our full year guidance, given on August 9, remains unchanged at this time."
