Shares in Australian food firm Goodman Fielder plunged 22% today after the bread-to-dairy manufacturer announced it would not meet profit expectations for its 2014 financial year.
The firm issued its interim results on 12 February in which it posted a first-half loss of A$68m as a result of impairment and restructuring costs. EBIT was down 8% at A$77.2m. At the time, the firm said it expected EBIT to be “broadly in line with the prior year”.
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However, Goodman Fielder said market conditions had worsened. It also admitted savings from a supply chain revamp would emerge later than expected.
“Since that release, trading conditions in Australia and New Zealand have deteriorated and manufacturing and supply chain cost savings under Project Renaissance have been delayed. This has required the company to revise its earnings expectations for the fourth quarter,” the company said in a statement.
“Goodman Fielder now expects normalised EBIT for FY14 to be approximately 10-15% below the current analysts’ consensus of approximately A$180m.”
The firm added as an “interim result” it “has accelerated cost reduction programmes across its businesses”.
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By GlobalDataThis would be done “primarily through headcount reduction in the fourth quarter of FY14” and the company anticipated as a result of this it would “achieve the additional A$25m in cost savings by FY15,” it added.
Goodman Fielder’s shares closed down 22.13% at A$0.475.
Click here for the press release.
