Hormel Foods: Reports Third Quarter 2023 Results

Austin / MN. (hrl) Hormel Foods Corporation, a leading global branded food company, reported results for the third quarter of fiscal 2023. All comparisons are to Q2 of fiscal 2022 unless otherwise noted.

Executive Summary Third Quarter 2023

Executive Commentary

«Our third quarter results reflect the strength of our leading brands, the value of our balanced business model and our team’s commitment to improving our performance,» said Jim Snee, chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer. «In an increasingly dynamic and competitive environment, we grew volume across all our segments, delivered adjusted net earnings per share in line with last year and made further progress addressing the near-term challenges impacting the business. This progress included reducing inventory, building momentum in the snack nuts business and driving adjusted operating margin improvement compared to last year.»

«The investments into our brands and continued improvement across our supply chain have generated positive performance in the marketplace,» Snee said. «Volume growth for the quarter was broad based, driven by a recovery in turkey, strong demand for many of our foodservice items and growth from leading retail brands. Our Foodservice segment delivered another quarter of strong bottom-line growth, and the Retail segment delivered margins ahead of our expectations. Earnings growth from our U.S. businesses in aggregate was more than offset by significantly weaker-than-expected results in our International segment, supply chain disruption caused by a third-party logistics provider shutdown and an adverse arbitration ruling.»

«We remain focused on driving volume and earnings growth, as well as delivering on our commitments to improve our business,» Snee said. «The operating environment domestically and abroad continues to be dynamic, and we anticipate consumers and operators to remain highly intentional in their spending. As we close the year, we expect a strong finish from our Foodservice segment, incremental savings from a series of projects aimed at reducing costs and complexity throughout our system, and further synergies from our implementation of GoFWD. Additionally, we expect continued softness in our International segment and earnings pressure from heightened competition at retail. Our continued investments into our brands, disciplined financial strategy and balanced approach across our businesses position us well for future growth as we close a challenging 2023.»

For the balance of the year, the Company expects: