TreeHouse Foods: Reports Q1-2022 Financial Results

Oak Brook / IL. (thf) TreeHouse Foods Inc. reported net sales of USD 1.14 billion which increased 7.9 percent compared to the first quarter of 2021. GAAP earnings (loss) per diluted share from continuing operations of USD (0.05) compared to USD 0.01 for the first quarter of 2021. Adjusted earnings per diluted share from continuing operations was USD (0.15) in the first quarter of 2022 compared to USD 0.36 in the first quarter of 2021.

«The private label proposition is becoming increasingly important to our customers and their consumers as they manage a higher cost macro environment and seek better value,» said Steve Oakland, Chief Executive Officer and President. «This has translated into private label consumption growth and unit share gains in measured channels, and in the first quarter, we outpaced the broader private label market in eight of our ten largest categories.»

Oakland continued, «It is clear that the capabilities we have built across our organization over the last several years are enabling us to navigate the challenging macro environment and capture the growing demand for private label. Our commercial teams are working collaboratively with our customers to successfully implement pricing to recover inflation, and our targeted labor and supply initiatives are delivering slow, steady improvement across our operations. I am confident we are taking the right steps to strengthen our business, restore profitability and deliver value for our customers and shareholders.»

«I’m proud of our strong execution in this dynamic environment,» said Bill Kelley, EVP and Chief Financial Officer. «We delivered strong first quarter net sales growth of 7.9 percent; our pricing initiatives to recover inflation were successful and contributed low-double digit growth as expected; and our progress around improving service enabled us to capture incremental private label volume. Our first quarter performance positions us to be on track to deliver improved profitability in 2022, and we are reaffirming our full year guidance.»

Outlook

TreeHouse reaffirmed its previously issued full year 2022 guidance:

• Net sales growth of at least 11 percent year-over-year. Pricing actions are expected to drive the majority of the sales growth and are anticipated to be tempered by volume constraints related to labor and supply chain disruption.
• Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization («Ebitda») of USD 385 to USD 415 million, up approximately 5 percent year-over-year at the midpoint. The cadence of earnings is expected to be weighted toward the second half of the year, as we expect the impact of labor and supply chain disruption on our profitability and volume to be most prominent in the first half.

With regard to the cadence for the remainder of the year:

• TreeHouse expects flat to slight sequential improvement in adjusted Ebitda margin in the second quarter.
• The Company has continued to work collaboratively with its customers to communicate additional pricing to recover further inflation, which will be implemented early in the third quarter.
• The Company anticipates that its mitigation efforts to address ongoing labor and supply chain challenges will drive further margin improvement as 2022 progresses.