Hormel Foods Corp.’s
HRL -3.49%
sales slipped 5% in the latest completed quarter as customers bought fewer refrigerated foods and Jennie-O Turkey Store products.
The food producer, based in Austin, Minn., said Wednesday that sales fell to $3.28 billion in the quarter ended Oct. 30 from $3.45 billion a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet expected $3.38 billion in revenue.
Hormel’s refrigerated-foods business, its largest by sales, saw volumes drop 19% without the benefit of an additional week in last year’s fiscal fourth quarter. Sales of its grocery products, such as Skippy peanut butter, rose on strong demand and higher prices despite a 4% drop in volume.
As expected, the company’s Jennie-O Turkey Store brand took a hit from an avian influenza outbreak in the U.S., which Hormel said in June would weigh on industrywide poultry supplies. Volumes fell by nearly a third, cutting the segment’s top line by 15%.
Food producers have been raising prices on everything from snacks to condiments in a bid to manage rising supply costs, testing demand for their products as customers tighten their purse strings.
Hormel and other meat producers in particular have been pinched by a mix of inflation pressures on their customers, supply-chain disruptions and impacts from international plant shutdowns.
Tyson Foods Inc.
reported earlier in November that profit from its beef business was down nearly two-thirds as premium cuts sold at a slower clip. Its chicken business, however, swung to a profit as prices rose on poultry. The average cost for beef and pork declined, the largest U.S. meatpacker said in its fourth-quarter earnings report.
Hormel’s profit slid to $279.9 million from $281.7 million in the year-ago period. Earnings were flat at 51 cents, topping analyst expectations by a penny, according to FactSet.
Hormel said it expects sales to rise between 1% and 3% in fiscal 2023 to between $12.6 billion and $12.9 billion, falling short of analyst expectations of more than $13 billion, according to FactSet.
The company projects earnings to grow to between $1.83 and $1.93 a share, missing analyst expectations of $2.01 a share.
Shares fell 5.5% to $45.55 in premarket trading.
Write to Dean Seal at dean.seal@wsj.com
Corrections & Amplifications
Hormel reported growth in items including bacon products. In an earlier version of this article, the headline incorrectly said that bacon sales were down. (Corrected on Nov. 30, 2022)
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Hormel Foods Corp.’s
HRL -3.49%
sales slipped 5% in the latest completed quarter as customers bought fewer refrigerated foods and Jennie-O Turkey Store products.
The food producer, based in Austin, Minn., said Wednesday that sales fell to $3.28 billion in the quarter ended Oct. 30 from $3.45 billion a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet expected $3.38 billion in revenue.
Hormel’s refrigerated-foods business, its largest by sales, saw volumes drop 19% without the benefit of an additional week in last year’s fiscal fourth quarter. Sales of its grocery products, such as Skippy peanut butter, rose on strong demand and higher prices despite a 4% drop in volume.
As expected, the company’s Jennie-O Turkey Store brand took a hit from an avian influenza outbreak in the U.S., which Hormel said in June would weigh on industrywide poultry supplies. Volumes fell by nearly a third, cutting the segment’s top line by 15%.
Food producers have been raising prices on everything from snacks to condiments in a bid to manage rising supply costs, testing demand for their products as customers tighten their purse strings.
Hormel and other meat producers in particular have been pinched by a mix of inflation pressures on their customers, supply-chain disruptions and impacts from international plant shutdowns.
Tyson Foods Inc.
reported earlier in November that profit from its beef business was down nearly two-thirds as premium cuts sold at a slower clip. Its chicken business, however, swung to a profit as prices rose on poultry. The average cost for beef and pork declined, the largest U.S. meatpacker said in its fourth-quarter earnings report.
Hormel’s profit slid to $279.9 million from $281.7 million in the year-ago period. Earnings were flat at 51 cents, topping analyst expectations by a penny, according to FactSet.
Hormel said it expects sales to rise between 1% and 3% in fiscal 2023 to between $12.6 billion and $12.9 billion, falling short of analyst expectations of more than $13 billion, according to FactSet.
The company projects earnings to grow to between $1.83 and $1.93 a share, missing analyst expectations of $2.01 a share.
Shares fell 5.5% to $45.55 in premarket trading.
Write to Dean Seal at dean.seal@wsj.com
Corrections & Amplifications
Hormel reported growth in items including bacon products. In an earlier version of this article, the headline incorrectly said that bacon sales were down. (Corrected on Nov. 30, 2022)
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8