Berkeley / CA. (ai) Annie´s Inc., a leading natural and organic food company in the United States, announced financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended March 31, 2013. Highlights: Net sales for the fourth quarter were 52,7 million USD; adjusted net sales were 52,2 million USD, an increase of 21,5 percent. Ebitda for the fourth quarter was 8,0 million USD; adjusted Ebitda was 9,0 million USD, an increase of 33,6 percent. Diluted EPS for the fourth quarter was 0,24 USD; adjusted diluted EPS was 0,29 USD, an increase of 20,1 percent. For fiscal 2014, Annie´s expects adjusted net sales growth of 18 to 20 percent and adjusted diluted EPS of 0,97 USD to 1,01 USD, representing growth of 21 percent to 26 percent.
«Our strong fourth quarter results capped off a successful year for our company», commented John Foraker, CEO of Annie´s. «Our sales for both the quarter and full year exceeded our expectations and were driven by a continuation of strong consumption trends. Our sharp focus on execution enabled us to overcome the challenge presented by the voluntary pizza recall announced in January and deliver robust sales and EPS growth».
«We enter fiscal 2014 in a position of strength. Consumer interest in natural and organic foods continues to increase, and as one of the leading brands in our space, we are well positioned to benefit from this trend. The robust momentum we are seeing in our base business, particularly in conventional channels, confirms that our core growth strategies are working, and our investments in our brand, people and infrastructure provide a strong foundation for sustainable growth. We look forward to building on our momentum in the year ahead as we continue to expand and improve our distribution, further build awareness and trial of Annie´s brand, and leverage our deep innovation pipeline, including our entry into the single-serve microwavable cup segment of the mac and cheese category, which we announced earlier», concluded Foraker.
Fourth Quarter Results
For the fourth quarter, Annie´s reported net sales of 52,7 million USD. Excluding items related to the frozen pizza recall, adjusted net sales were 52,2 million USD, a 21,5 percent increase over fiscal 2012. Sales growth in the fourth quarter was driven by strong, double-digit gains in meals and snacks. Growth in meals was particularly robust, benefiting from significant sales increases in natural mac + cheese in conventional channels.
Ebitda for the quarter was 8,0 million USD, with adjusted Ebitda increasing 33,6 percent to 9,0 million USD. In addition to strong top-line growth, adjusted Ebitda benefited from approximately 160 basis points of operating margin improvement resulting from increased leverage of selling, general and administrative expenses.
Net income for the quarter was 4,2 million USD, or 0,24 USD per diluted share, as compared to 1,9 million USD in the fourth quarter of the prior year. Adjusted net income was 5,1 million USD, or 0,29 USD per diluted share, representing an increase of 29,9 percent over adjusted net income of 3,9 million USD, or 0,24 USD per adjusted diluted share, in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012. Adjusted net income growth was driven by strong improvement in operating income and a lower tax rate as compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012. Partially offsetting this, EPS growth was negatively impacted by a year-over-year increase in shares outstanding related to the initial public offering and stock option exercises.
Fiscal 2013 Results
For fiscal 2013, Annie´s reported net sales of 170,0 million USD. Excluding items related to the frozen pizza recall, adjusted net sales increased 21,1 percent to 171,1 million USD. Sales growth in fiscal 2013 was driven by strength in meals and snacks. Sales of dressings, condiments and other were flat as strength in dressings was offset by the discontinuance of cereal in fiscal 2012. Sales growth was broad-based across channels, with the grocery, mass and natural channels all contributing double-digit percentage increases.
Ebitda for fiscal 2013 was 21,1 million USD, with adjusted Ebitda increasing 20,9 percent to 25,8 million USD. While adjusted Ebitda as a percentage of adjusted net sales was unchanged at 15,1 percent, adjusted operating margin expanded by approximately 20 basis points from fiscal 2012 driven by improvement in adjusted gross margin.
Net income in fiscal 2013 was 11,6 million USD, or 0,65 USD per diluted share, as compared to 9,6 million USD in fiscal 2012. Adjusted net income in fiscal 2013 was 14,2 million USD, or 0,80 USD per diluted share, representing an increase of 17,1 percent over adjusted net income of 12,1 million USD, or 0,74 USD per adjusted diluted share, in fiscal 2012. Adjusted EPS growth benefited from strong improvement in operating income, partially offset by year-over-year increases in the company´s tax rate and shares outstanding.
Fiscal 2014 Outlook
Annie´s expects the following financial results for the upcoming fiscal year: Adjusted net sales growth of 18 to 20 percent. Adjusted Ebitda of 31 to 32 million USD. Adjusted EPS of 0,97 USD to 1,01 USD, representing 21 to 26 percent growth, based on an estimated 17,5 million diluted shares outstanding.
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