By Maria Armental
Post Holdings Inc. reported a wider loss in the fourth quarter
as the company recorded large one-time charges in its ready-to-eat
cereal category and a supply chain disruption in its active
nutrition segment.
The St. Louis company, known for its Grape-Nuts and Fruity
Pebbles brands, has been on a spending spree to diversify its
business since its spinoff from Ralcorp Holdings Inc. in 2012.
Last month, it added PowerBar and Musashi brands and related
world-wide assets from Nestlé SA and in November it added private
label peanut butter maker American Blanching Co.
The U.S. breakfast-cereal sector, including rivals Kellogg Co.
and General Mills Inc., has been hard hit with consumers' shifting
tastes and lifestyles.
For the current quarter, Post said it expects adjusted Ebitda,
excluding interest, depreciation and amortization and other items,
between $115 million and $120 million and $540 million and $580
million for the year. That compares with the Wall Street consensus
of $142.9 million for the current quarter and $587 million for the
year, according to Thomson Reuters.
The company said it also expects to record about $5 million and
$6 million in charges related to its recent reorganization.
For the period ended Sept. 30, Post reported a loss of $287.4
million, compared with a year-earlier loss $900,000. On a per-share
basis, which includes preferred dividend impacts, the company
recorded a loss of $5.86, compared with a loss of 10 cents a year
earlier. Excluding goodwill impairment and other items, Post
reported a profit of 13 cents a share, compared with 16 cents a
year earlier.
Revenue surged to $1.04 billion, from $291.7 million a year
earlier, boosted by acquisitions.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected seven cents a
share and revenue of $980 million.
Gross margin fell to 21.9% from 38.6%.
The Post Foods segment reported revenue fell 2.1% to $248.5
million.
Shares declined to $36 each in after-hours trading. Through
Monday's closing, the stock had fallen 25% for the year.
Corrections & Amplifications
Post shares had declined to $37 each at one point in after-hours
trading. An earlier version of this article incorrectly reported
that shares had fallen to $27 each at that time.
Write to Maria Armental at maria.armental@wsj.com
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