Hormel Foods today (25 November) issued annual results rounded off by higher fourth-quarter sales and profits but the earnings – and its 2015 earnings per share forecast – hit the US group’s shares.

The company booked an 8.8% rise in net income to US$171.3m for the 13 weeks to 26 October, equating to earnings per share of US$0.63.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Premium Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Related Company Profiles

View all

However, Wall Street analysts were expecting earnings per share of $0.64.

Moreover, Hormel’s forecast for its underlying earnings per share for the new financial year also fell short of analyst expectations. The Spam maker estimates earnings per share will reach between $2.45 to $2.55, excluding items. Wall Street had expected a forecast of $2.59 a share.

Hormel’s stock slid in early trading in New York, down 3.92% at $52.01 at 10:42 ET.

See Also:

Jeff Ettinger, Hormel’s chairman, president and CEO, described the company’s fourth quarter as “a strong finish to the year”.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

Segment operating profit increased 9.1% to $269m. Net sales were up 9.5% at $2.54bn. Sales from Hormel’s grocery products division – its third-largest by sales – were down 3.4%. Profits from the division also dropped by more than a fifth due to “record-high” meat raw material costs, Hormel said.

“In fiscal 2015 we expect to exceed our stated goals of 5 percent sales growth and 10 percent earnings growth by continuing to provide consumers with innovative, value-added solutions. We anticipate pork commodity prices and pork operating margins to normalise as the year progresses, providing input cost relief for our grocery products team, but leading to challenging comparisons for our refrigerated foods group in 2015,” Ettinger said.