Hershey Foods beats by $0.06, reports revs in-line; guides FY17 EPS in-line, expects to increase at high end of 7-9% range (108.46)
- Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.31 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.06 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $1.25; revenues rose 2.8% year/year to $1.88 bln vs the $1.89 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
- "Net sales increased 2.8%, slightly less than our forecast and reflective of the broader soft U.S. food-industry retail trends to start the year. Gross margin expansion was solid, which contributed to strong operating profit growth. First quarter U.S. retail takeaway was primarily impacted by the timing of Easter, however, our market share gains were solid.
- Co issues in-line guidance for FY17, sees EPS of $4.72-$4.81 vs. $4.78 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
- Full-year net sales expected to increase around the low end of the 2% to 3% range, including a net benefit from acquisitions of about 0.5 points.