Pinnacle Foods Q4 Profit Declines; Issues FY15 EPS Outlook - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Pinnacle Foods Inc. (PF) posted fourth-quarter net earnings of $36.1 million or $0.31 per share, compared to $55.7 million or $0.48 per share in the prior-year period.

Excluding items affecting comparability, net earnings per share for the latest fourth quarter totaled $0.64, up up from $0.57 per share in the year-ago period.

On average, 13 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings per share of $0.64 for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time items.

Net sales for the quarter decreased 0.6% to $705.33 million, from $709.32 million in the comparable quarter last year, while nine analysts estimated revenues of $718.35 million for the quarter. The company said this performance reflected a 1.0% benefit from the Gardein acquisition and a 0.2% increase from higher net price realization, more than offset by lower volume/mix of 1.6%, driven by the expected decline at the Specialty Foods segment, and unfavorable foreign currency translation of 0.2%.

For fiscal 2015, the firm expects adjusted earnings to be in the range of $1.86 to $1.91 per share. Thirteen analysts project annual earnings of $1.91 per share.