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Last Update: 20-Sep-12 09:17 ET
Conagra shares spike 6% following beat on earnings and upside guidance
ConAgra (CAG $27.17 +1.52) reported first quarter earnings of $0.44 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.09 better than the Capital IQ consensus of $0.35, while revenues rose 6.7% year/year to $3.31 billion versus the $3.24 billion consensus. The Consumer Foods segment posted sales of $2,043 million and operating profit of $235 million for the first quarter. Sales increased 8%, reflecting 8% contribution from acquisitions, 5% favorable price/mix, and a 4% organic volume decline. FX negatively impacted sales by 1%. Sales for the Commercial Foods segment were $1,269 million, 5% above year-ago amounts. The sales increase was due to a strong top-line performance for the Lamb Weston potato operations, which posted good volume growth, particularly in international markets, as well as favorable price/mix. All of the segment's product lines posted volume growth. The co repurchased ~2.95 million of its shares of common stock during the quarter for ~$75 million; as of quarter end, the co has ~$450 million remaining on its current share repurchase authorization. The company raised its quarterly dividend $0.01 (4%) to $0.25 (yield now 3.9%). The company issued upside guidance for fiscal year 2013 with raised EPS to $2.03-2.06, excluding non-recurring items, from $1.95-1.99 versus the $1.98 consensus (co raised guidance by less than the the first quarter beat). Relative to the strong comparable year-over-year EPS growth rate posted for the fiscal first quarter, the remaining fiscal quarters of fiscal 2013 are expected to show more modest rates of comparable year-over-year EPS growth, reflecting more difficult year-over-year comparisons as well as continued increases in marketing investment.
