ConAgra Shares Rise After Earnings Swing To a Profit

ConAgra shares rose 2% in Thursday premarket trading after the company swung to a first-quarter profit after a steep loss in the same period last year. The food company reported net income of $186.2 million, or 42 cents per share, versus a loss of $1.15 billion, or $2.68 per share, for the same period last year. Adjusted earnings were 61 cents per share, beating the 48 cents per share FactSet consensus. Sales for the quarter totaled $2.67 billion, down from $2.79 billion but exceeding the FactSet consensus of $2.73 billion. ConAgra will now report five segments - grocery and snacks, refrigerated and frozen, international, foodservice and commercial - in order to align with changes to the organization, the company said. The commercial segment, which mostly consists of the Lamb Weston potato products business, will be spun off later this year. Lamb Weston's 4% growth was offset by the impact of divested businesses. Sales for all segments fell during the quarter. ConAgra shares are up 7.7% for the past year while the S&P 500 Index rose 15.3% for the same period.