Norwegian food manufacturer Rieber & Søn today (25 October) admitted that it was “very likely” the company would miss its profits targets this year after a fall in third-quarter earnings.
Rieber & Søn reported earnings per share of NOK1.02 for the third quarter of 2011, down from NOK1.09 a year earlier.
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The company had forecast annual earnings per share of around NOK3.50 but said its “weaker than expected” performance in the third quarter meant it was “very likely” that the company would not hit that target.
Net profit was NOK79m (US$14.3m), down 4.8%. Operating profit was NOK127m, down from NOK128m a year earlier.
Lower volumes had hit the company’s third-quarter results. Rieber & Søn said its sales were up 0.7% at NOK1.08bn but were boosted by changes to the structure of the business. On an organic basis, sales fell 0.4%.
Nevertheless, CEO Patrik Andersson was pleased with the company’s performance.
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By GlobalData“This tastes especially good. We had a tough start to the year with increased raw material prices and weaker sales. We have also met difficult challenges in several of the markets in which we operate. There has been a head wind blowing from all directions, so delivering these results is satisfying,” he said. “The second half of the year will undoubtedly be more pleasant for Rieber & Søn than the first half has been.”
