US food group Post Holdings has lowered its forecast for annual adjusted EBITDA.

The company pointed to costs linked to M&A, a lag in volumes at pasta arm Dakota Pasta Growers and pressure on US breakfast cereal sales.

The firm announced today that fiscal 2014 adjusted EBITDA would be expected to sit between $300-$320m compared with its February forecast of $315m-$340m.

“The updated adjusted EBITDA guidance reflects adjustments for continued holding company costs supporting M&A activity, delays in new business volume at Dakota and softness in the ready-to-eat (RTE) cereal category in Post’s second fiscal quarter” the firm said in a statement.

On Dakota, management advised it expected to “return to historical volume levels in 2015” thanks to a “strong pipeline”. On cereal, management said it believed the category would “return to a single-digit growth rate in 2015”.

Post’s fiscal year runs to the end of September. In the 12 months to the end of September last year, it generated adjusted EBITDA of $216.7m.

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The company, which cuts its forecast after the markets closed in New York yesterday, saw its shares plunge today (11 March) by 8.62% to $54.99 per share at 12:19 ET.

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