Hershey’s net sales jumped more than 10% in its first quarter, helped by pricing and M&A – but volumes fell.
The Reese’s maker booked a 10.6% rise in net sales to $3.1bn for the quarter to 29 March.
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Reported and adjusted earnings rose and Hershey maintained its set of financial forecasts for the year as a whole.
Hershey’s organic sales growth and adjusted EPS beat Wall Street expectations, according to Bloomberg.
However, the US snacks giant said its volumes declined by “approximately two points”. The Brookside brand owner pointed to “elasticity impacts” affecting its North America Confectionery and International reporting units.
Hershey’s North American confectionery business saw volumes decline around four percentages points, “reflecting price elasticity and one fewer shipping day”, the company said. The division’s net sales increased 8.3% to $2.49bn. Hershey said its “net price realisation” amounted to 12 percentage points.
The group’s international business reported a 2% fall in volumes. First-quarter net sales increased 16.1% to $264.2m helped by “strategic pricing actions” across markets. Similar to Hershey’s North America Confectionery division, the company said its “price realisation” for the International arm was 12 percentage points.
“We kicked off the year strong and are on track to hit our financial targets for 2026. Hershey’s and Reese’s are key drivers, delivering first quarter non-seasonal retail sales lifts of 11% and 10%, respectively,” Hershey president and CEO Kirk Tanner said.
Hershey’s first-quarter net sales included a two-percentage-point boost from its acquisition of US organic-snacks business LesserEvil last year.
First-quarter organic, constant-currency, net sales increased 7.9%.
Operating profit climbed 73.5% to $640.7m, boosted by Hershey’s sales growth, pricing and lower derivative mark-to-market losses versus the same period last year. Adjusted operating profit grew 12.9% to $686.5m.
Reported net income jumped almost 94% to $435.1m Adjusted earnings per share-diluted stood at $2.35, an increase of 12.4%.
Hershey is forecasting its net sales will rise 4-5% in 2026, including a 150 basis-point gain from its LesserEvil deal.
The company is projecting its organic net sales will increase by 2.5% to 3.5%.
Its outlook also includes forecasts for reported earnings per share to leap 79% to 89% an adjusted earnings per share to be 30% to 35% better than last year.
