OAK BROOK, Ill., June 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- TreeHouse Foods,
Inc. (NYSE: THS) today announced that the lag in the Company's
pricing actions in response to higher freight, transportation,
packaging and other related commodity costs has continued and is
expected to be most acute during the second quarter. As a
result, the Company is lowering its full year 2011 adjusted
earnings per share guidance to a range of $2.90 to $3.00 with the second quarter results
expected to be between $0.42 and
$0.44 per share.
For the second quarter, the Company estimates strong organic
sales growth of 3.5%-4.0% and total net sales of nearly
$490 million. Gross margins,
however, are expected to decline approximately 250 bps versus the
second quarter of 2010 to between 22% and 23%. For the year,
TreeHouse expects gross margins to be flat to slightly below last
year, as pricing actions initiated in the second quarter will be
realized during the Company's third and fourth quarters.
Sam K. Reed, Chairman and CEO,
said, "While we are encouraged by our ongoing top line strength, I
am disappointed that we are delivering results below our
expectations. The challenges we faced in the first quarter
from rising fuel and other inputs have persisted, and as a private
label company, a lag in pricing has a direct effect on earnings.
While our pricing efforts have been aggressive, the impact
will not be realized in time to offset the higher cost environment
of our second quarter."
"The premise of our private label strategy remains intact.
The market for house brands is robust, as budget conscious
consumers continue to seek value without compromise. I am
confident in our strategic vision, and we remain committed to
generating long-term superior shareholder value," continued Mr.
Reed.
CONFERENCE CALL AND WEBCAST
TreeHouse management will host a conference call tomorrow,
Thursday, June 23, 2011 at
8:30 a.m. EDT to discuss this
announcement. A webcast of the call may be heard live by
visiting http://www.treehousefoods.com and by clicking on "Investor
Relations", "Investor Overview."
In order to listen to the Webcast, users will need to have
installed either Real Player or Windows Media Player software,
which can be detected and downloaded by visiting the site. A
Webcast replay will be available for one year following the event
within the "Investor Relations", "Audio Archives" section of the
Company's Website.
ABOUT TREEHOUSE FOODS
TreeHouse is a food manufacturer servicing primarily the retail
grocery and foodservice channels. Its products include
non-dairy powdered coffee creamer; canned soup, salad dressings and
sauces; sugar free drink mixes and sticks, instant oatmeal and hot
cereals; macaroni and cheese, skillet dinners and other value-added
side dishes and salads; salsa and Mexican sauces; jams and pie
fillings under the E.D. Smith brand name; pickles and related
products; infant feeding products; and other food products
including aseptic sauces, refrigerated salad dressings, and liquid
non-dairy creamer. TreeHouse believes it is the largest
manufacturer of pickles and non-dairy powdered creamer in
the United States and the largest
manufacturer of private label salad dressings, drink mixes and
instant hot cereals in the United
States and Canada based on
sales volume.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release contains "forward-looking statements."
Forward-looking statements include all statements that do not
relate solely to historical or current facts, and can generally be
identified by the use of words such as "may," "should," "could,"
"expects," "seek to," "anticipates," "plans," "believes,"
"estimates," "approximately," "nearly," "intends," "predicts,"
"projects," "potential" or "continue" or the negative of such terms
and other comparable terminology. These statements are only
predictions. The outcome of the events described in these
forward-looking statements is subject to known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company or its
industry's actual results, levels of activity, performance or
achievements to be materially different from any future results,
levels of activity, performance or achievement expressed or implied
by these forward-looking statements. TreeHouse's Form 10-K for the
year ended December 31, 2010 and
subsequent report on form 10-Q discuss some of the factors that
could contribute to these differences. You are cautioned not to
unduly rely on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as
of the date made, when evaluating the information presented in this
presentation. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or
undertaking to disseminate any updates or revisions to any
forward-looking statement contained herein, to reflect any change
in its expectations with regard thereto, or any other change in
events, conditions or circumstances on which any statement is
based.
SOURCE TreeHouse Foods, Inc.