Flowers Foods Earnings Down Slightly as Sales Rise
August 10 2016 - 10:00PM
Dow Jones News
Flowers Foods Inc. said its second-quarter profit fell 1.2% as
soft demand and increased promotional activity prompted the company
to lower its 2016 guidance.
The maker of Wonder bread, Tastykake and Nature's Own baked
goods also launched an operational review called "Project
Centennial" to look into enhancing revenue growth, streamlining
operations and investing to strengthen its competitive
position.
Shares fell 4% to $15.50 in after-hours trading.
Like other established food makers facing threats from younger
brands, Flowers has diversified by acquiring companies focused on
natural ingredients. General Mills Inc. bought Annie's Inc., while
Campbell Soup Co. purchased Bolthouse Farms.
Flowers has found some success with 2015 deals for Dave's Killer
Bread, for $275 million, and Alpine Valley Bread Co., for $120
million. The company said Wednesday that said strong demand for
those products offset lower sales in its core markets.
Breaking out its 5.2% total sales increase, the company said
acquisitions contributed 5.6% as pricing/mix decreased 0.5% and
volume rose 0.1%.
Earlier Wednesday, Flowers disclosed that it faces a federal
inquiry into its labor practices. It didn't detail the specific
labor issues involved. The company was previously sued by delivery
drivers in several states who allege they were misclassified as
independent contractors.
Flowers expects earnings of 90 cents to 95 cents a share for the
year, excluding a second-quarter pension plan settlement loss of 2
cents a share. In May, it projected earnings of $1 to $1.06 a
share.
Flowers projects sales of $3.93 billion to $3.986 billion for
the year, compared with prior guidance of $3.986 billion to $4.08
billion.
For the quarter ended June 30, Flowers reported a profit of
$51.2 million, or 24 cents a share, compared with $51.8 million, or
24 cents a share, a year earlier. Earnings excluding items were 26
cents a share.
Sales rose to $935 million from $888.8 million.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had projected a profit of
26 cents a share on $949 million in revenue.
Write to Josh Beckerman at josh.beckerman@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 10, 2016 21:45 ET (01:45 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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