US-based consumer packaged goods company Post Holdings raised its outlook for annual underlying EBITDA yesterday (25 July) but reported sales below analyst expectations.
The company said for the third quarter ending 30 June net sales totalled approximately US$1.25bn, versus $1.2bn in the comparable period of last year and missing consensus analyst expectations by $30m.
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Preliminary adjusted EBITDA totalled $234m, compared to $187.5m last year. Analysts had expected adjusted EBITDA of $214.9m. Net earnings totalled $3.3m, the group revealed.
Post management raised its fiscal 2016 adjusted EBITDA guidance range to $915-$925m from $893-$913m. While Post’s annual planning process is not complete, Post management expects the 2017 financial year adjusted EBITDA to exceed $900m.
BB&T Capital Markets analyst Heather Jones said the result was “positive” and suggested the sales miss could be due to the performance of egg business Michael Foods, where “third-party production will not be fully recovered until late this year”.
She continued: “We not only anticipate improved performance in the overall legacy business in 2017 but also believe POST will likely complete a sizeable acquisition over the next year that would likely bolster EBITDA further.”
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