Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) took a spill on markets Thursday on the release of second-quarter financial information.
The company, based in Austin, Minn., heralded record net sales of $2.3 billion, up 1%, and pretax earnings of $318 million, up 7%. Diluted earnings per share of $0.52
Chairman Jim Snee remarked, "We achieved record sales this quarter as three of our four segments delivered volume and sales growth.
"Many of our innovative product lines such as Hormel Bacon 1 cooked bacon, Hormel Fire Braised products, Hormel Natural Choice snacks and Herdez salsa delivered double-digit sales growth. We also grew core product lines such as Hormel pepperoni, Dinty Moore stew and Austin Blues authentic barbeque products."
"In spite of record sales, second-quarter earnings did not meet our expectations," Snee said. "African swine fever in China started to impact global hog and pork markets this quarter, which led to rapidly increasing input costs. In response, we have announced pricing action across our branded value-added portfolio in the Grocery Products, Refrigerated Foods and International segments."
The company’s fiscal 2019 outlook came in at $9.5-$10 billion in net sales guidance, down from the $9.7-$10.2 billion in the prior fiscal outlook. Earnings per share guidance was also scaled back to between $1.71 and $1.85, from between $1.77 and $1.91
Hormel is a member of the S&P 500 Index and the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats, and was named one of "The 100 Best Corporate Citizens" by Corporate Responsibility Magazine for the 11th year in a row, and has received numerous other awards and accolades for its corporate responsibility and community service efforts.
Shares slid $1.22, or 3.1%, to $38.27
