A jump in second-quarter sales and earnings has boosted Hillshire Brands first-half numbers, although operating profit was still down in the six-month period.
In the first six months of the year to 28 December, Hillshire said operating profit fell 7.1% to US$171m. Sales from continuing operations were up 1.6% in the period, climbing to $1.5bn.
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Gains accelerated in the second quarter, when the company was able to push through pricing increases to offset higher commodity costs. Operating income rose 16.9% to $116m, the company said. Sales growth accelerated to 2.1%.
For the quarter, Hillshire reported a profit from continuing operations of $114m, or $0.91 a share, compared to from $58m, or $0.47, a year earlier. Excluding one-off items, earnings from continuing operations increase from $0.62 a share to $0.66.
Based on the improved second-quarter performance, Hillshire said it expects full-year earnings at the top end of its guidance range.
CEO Sean Connolly commented: “Despite significant input cost inflation, both sales and profit exceeded our expectations. This reflects the strong ongoing progress our team is making to build our brands and improve our cost efficiencies. We are now well into the second year of our plan and achieving our goal of delivering strong and sustainable shareholder returns.”
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