Conagra’s Sales Rise Nearly 10% on Higher Prices
Conagra
CAG -2.34%
Brands Inc. posted higher sales for the latest quarter after raising prices to offset climbing costs.
The producer of Duncan Hines cake mixes and Slim Jim meat snacks said Thursday that sales were up 9.5% to $2.9 billion in the quarter ended Aug. 28. The top-line was primarily lifted by higher prices, which, along with a shift in the mix of items sold, added 14.3% to the sales gain. That came as costs ballooned 15% and sales volume declined 4.6%.
Food companies are dealing with some of the steepest input cost increases in decades and looking to pass higher prices onto a customer base that is tightening its purse strings and eschewing discretionary purchases.
Grocery prices in the U.S. were 13.5% higher in August than they were a year before, marking the steepest jump since March 1979, while the price of eating out rose just 8%, according to the latest data from the Labor Department.
Conagra Chief Executive
Sean Connolly
said the Chicago company is still navigating high inflation and industrywide supply-chain constraints.
Conagra swung to a loss of $77.5 million, or 16 cents a share, in its fiscal first quarter, compared with a profit of $235.4 million, or 49 cents, a year ago.
The loss included $386 million in goodwill and brand-impairment charges, largely associated with its Bird’s Eye frozen vegetable brand. Adjusted for that and other items, Conagra said per-share earnings were 57 cents, above the 52 cents a share expected by Wall Street analysts, according to FactSet.
Analysts surveyed by FactSet had been expecting $2.85 billion in sales.
Separately,
McCormick
& Co. on Thursday reported a 3% sales increase in the latest quarter, as a 10% jump in prices was offset by lower sales volume. The spices and flavorings company said it spent the quarter combating inflation that had previously outpaced its price increases, though higher input and supply-chain costs still dragged its margins lower.
McCormick CEO
Lawrence Kurzius
also said that supply-chain problems are taking longer than expected to sort out.
Write to Dean Seal at [email protected]
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Conagra
CAG -2.34%
Brands Inc. posted higher sales for the latest quarter after raising prices to offset climbing costs.
The producer of Duncan Hines cake mixes and Slim Jim meat snacks said Thursday that sales were up 9.5% to $2.9 billion in the quarter ended Aug. 28. The top-line was primarily lifted by higher prices, which, along with a shift in the mix of items sold, added 14.3% to the sales gain. That came as costs ballooned 15% and sales volume declined 4.6%.
Food companies are dealing with some of the steepest input cost increases in decades and looking to pass higher prices onto a customer base that is tightening its purse strings and eschewing discretionary purchases.
Grocery prices in the U.S. were 13.5% higher in August than they were a year before, marking the steepest jump since March 1979, while the price of eating out rose just 8%, according to the latest data from the Labor Department.
Conagra Chief Executive
Sean Connolly
said the Chicago company is still navigating high inflation and industrywide supply-chain constraints.
Conagra swung to a loss of $77.5 million, or 16 cents a share, in its fiscal first quarter, compared with a profit of $235.4 million, or 49 cents, a year ago.
The loss included $386 million in goodwill and brand-impairment charges, largely associated with its Bird’s Eye frozen vegetable brand. Adjusted for that and other items, Conagra said per-share earnings were 57 cents, above the 52 cents a share expected by Wall Street analysts, according to FactSet.
Analysts surveyed by FactSet had been expecting $2.85 billion in sales.
Separately,
McCormick
& Co. on Thursday reported a 3% sales increase in the latest quarter, as a 10% jump in prices was offset by lower sales volume. The spices and flavorings company said it spent the quarter combating inflation that had previously outpaced its price increases, though higher input and supply-chain costs still dragged its margins lower.
McCormick CEO
Lawrence Kurzius
also said that supply-chain problems are taking longer than expected to sort out.
Write to Dean Seal at [email protected]
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
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