Treehouse Foods saw its income almost halve for the fourth quarter, despite a 7.3% increase in sales.
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Net income from continuing operations for the US food group totalled $7.1m compared to $14.3m last year.
Chairman Sam Reed described the past year as “the most challenging the packaged foods industry has faced in decades”.
Net sales for the quarter totalled $398.1m, an increase of 7.3% over the fourth quarter of 2007, with 3.6% coming from legacy sales and the balance from having a full quarter of ED Smith sales in 2008, the company said.
EBITDA decreased slightly to $44.8m for the period compared to $46.2m in 2008. The decrease reflected the negative effect of Canadian currency rates on ED Smith cross-border transactions.
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By GlobalDataFull-year adjusted EBITDA was $157m compared to $137.6m last year, an increase of 14.1%.
Commenting on the results, Reed said, “Despite the challenges, we exceeded our original expectations and outperformed the food industry.”
Treehouse said it expects full-year earnings to increase 11% to 14% to $1.80 to $1.85 per share before one-time items and before considering potential acquisitions.
“We do recognise that it will also be a year of major transition for the packaged foods industry as rampant input cost inflation and volatility are replaced by recession, credit crisis and consumer uncertainty,” the company said in a statement.
