Post Holdings has posted an annual net loss of US$358.6m – compared with a profit of $9.8m a year earlier – despite reporting higher sales as fourth-quarter charges hit the US group’s bottom line.
The company booked non-cash goodwill and intangible asset impairment charges of $295.6m in the fourth quarter to the end of September.
Some $264.3m of those charges were on the Grape Nuts owner’s ready-to-eat cereal business, with Post pointing to an “acceleration” in the decline of the category.
A further $31.3m in charges were recorded on Post’s active nutrition division amid “supply chain disruptions” at its Dymatize unit and additional “remediation expenses”.
Higher selling, general and admin costs, plus acquisition-related expenses, also contributed to Post’s loss for the year. The company reported an operating loss of $207.7m compared with $107.8m for the year.
Sales, however, were up to $2.41bn against $1.03bn year-on-year, as Post’s spate of acquisitions boosted its top line.
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By GlobalDataThe fourth quarter followed a similar pattern, with a loss of $291.7m compared with a loss of $3.2m in the previous year’s fourth quarter.
Post reported a fourth-quarter operating loss of $24.6m, against a profit of $24.4m a year earlier. Sales were up at $1.04bn, compared with $291.7m, in the last quarter of 2012/13.
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