JM Smucker sales hit record as coronavirus shoppers stock up kitchens
Revenue growth shows payoff from brand loyalty, CEO says
Yankee Doodle Dandy's Food Truck founder Josh Gatewood discusses how coronavirus has impacted his small business.
J.M. Smucker Co.’s fourth-quarter sales spiked 10 percent as consumers stocked up on comfort food while hunkering down at home to ride out the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Orville, Ohio-based food-products manufacturer earned $226.3 million, or an adjusted $2.57 a share, on revenue of $2.09 billion. Wall Street analysts surveyed by Refinitiv were expecting adjusted earnings of $2.29 a share, on revenue of $2.06 billion.
MAJOR US AIRLINES WILL SUSPEND SERVICE TO DOZENS OF DOMESTIC AIRPORTS
Smucker’s strong response to the COVID-19 pandemic is “reflected in our exceptional fourth-quarter results, with record-setting net sales and adjusted earnings per share,” CEO Mark Smucker said in a statement. “This exceptional growth is a testament to the strength of our brands and consumer-centric strategy, as consumers turned to trusted products to stock their kitchens as stay-at-home orders were implemented across North America."
The quarterly results also benefited from positive comparisons with the previous year, when the company had to book a $97.9 million goodwill charge.
Sales at Smucker's U.S. retail consumer foods unit spiked 22 percent year-over-year while U.S. retail coffee and U.S. retail pet food sales rose 11 percent and 6 percent, respectively. International and Away from Home sales were little changed after accounting for currency-exchange rates.
For fiscal year 2020, Smucker earned $779.5 million, or $6.84 a share, on net sales of $7.8 billion.
Looking ahead, Smucker sees full fiscal-year 2021 sales slipping 1 percent to 2 percent on adjusted earnings of $7.90 to $8.30 a share as the "material benefit" from the COVID-19 outbreak fades.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS
Shares rose 10 percent this year through Wednesday, outperforming the S&P 500's 3.34 percent decline.