J.M. Smucker Company (NYSE: SJM), a manufacturer and marketer of branded food products, today reported its fourth-quarter financial results, posting a 9.7% increase in profit. SJM’s sales grew more than forecast in the fourth quarter despite a lower product volume.
J.M. Smucker, known for its namesake jams and jellies, has seen a decline in earnings in recent quarters due to higher green coffee and peanut costs and increasing expenditure on promotions. SJM had raised prices to offset rising costs but this led to a drop in the third-quarter product volume.
Vince Byrd, President and COO of J.M. Smucker, said that while higher food prices continue to pose a challenge to consumers, SJM believes that softening commodity costs should provide some relief to improve volume. Byrd said that SJM remains committed to price leadership as demonstrated by its recent 6% price decrease on coffee.
For the fourth quarter ended April, Smucker posted a profit of $104.1 million, or $0.93 per share, compared with $94.9 million, or $0.82 per share reported for the same period in the previous year. Excluding one-time items, SJM reported a profit of $1.10 per share, up from $1 per share reported for the same period last year. Sales for the quarter rose 14% to $1.36 billion.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters were expecting SJM to report earnings of $0.99 per share and revenue of $1.35 billion.
Gross margin for the quarter was 33.2%, down from 35.5% reported for the same period in the previous year.
Smucker shares rose 0.72% to $76.60 in pre-market trading today.
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