Frozen pie and chilled meats firm Hillshire Brands has forecast adjusted diluted earnings per share for its 2013/14 financial year could fall at a mid-single digit rate.
The US group said adjusted EPS are expected to be “flat to down mid-single digits”.
The forecast came after Hillshire reported its numbers for the year to 29 June. Net income was US$252m, against $848m a year earlier.
However, Hillshire made a net income from continuing operations of $184m, compared to a loss of $20m a year ago.
Full-year operating income stood at $297m, compared to $76m the year before.
Sales were down 1% at $3.92bn.
“In this pivotal transition year, we are pleased with the progress we made on our plans to deliver strong and sustainable shareholder returns. This affirms our confidence in the underlying business and enables us to return more cash to shareholders,” president and CEO Sean Connolly.
“As we look to fiscal 2014, we expect performance to gain momentum through the year. First-half results will reflect lapping of fiscal 2013 favorability, near-term inflation, and competitive dynamics. Second-half performance will be fueled by a robust innovation slate and the benefit of our cost savings programmes. As we exit fiscal 2014, our company will be significantly stronger versus where we started, delivering solid growth and wellpositioned for fiscal 2015.”
