Hormel Foods enjoyed increased sales in its third fiscal quarter, but its overall results were dragged down by integrating the Planters acquisition.
Hormel’s foodservice business saw a 45% increase over the same quarter of last year. Much of this was due to restaurants opening up as pandemic vaccines became available. However, the business was up 17% compared with the third quarter of 2019, before the pandemic. Company management attributed this to the difficulty restaurants are currently having in hiring and retaining staff; this increased the attractiveness of Hormel foodservice products that are premade or otherwise time-saving.
Retail products had a good run, too, with sales up 9% over last year, when the pandemic was in full swing and consumers were stocking their pantries. Retail sales were up 16% over the pre-pandemic third quarter of 2019.
However, net income, at $177 million, was down 13% from the same quarter last year. Hormel lowered expectations for full-year earnings to $1.65 to $1.69 per share, down from a previous forecast of $1.70 to $1.82. Management attributed much of that to expenses incurred in the $2.79 billion purchase of the Planters nuts and snacks line from Kraft Heinz early this year.
