Selling, general and administrative expenses increased $0.5 million, or 1.1%, to $49.1 million for the first quarter of 2025 from $48.6 million for the first quarter of 2024. The increase was composed of increases in acquisition/divestiture-related and non-recurring expenses of $4.2 million and general and administrative expenses of $0.5 million, partially offset by decreases in consumer marketing expenses of $3.3 million and selling expenses of $0.9 million. Expressed as a percentage of net sales, selling, general and administrative expenses increased by 1.4 percentage points to 11.6% for the first quarter of 2025, as compared to 10.2% for the first quarter of 2024.
Net interest expense remained flat at $37.8 million for the first quarter of 2025 as compared to the first quarter of 2024.
The Company had net income of $0.8 million, or $0.01 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2025, compared to a net loss of $40.2 million, or $0.51 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2024. The Company’s net loss for the first quarter of 2024 was primarily attributable to the pre-tax, non-cash impairment charges of $70.6 million recorded during the first quarter of 2024 for the impairment of goodwill within the Company’s Frozen & Vegetables reporting unit.
The Company’s adjusted net income for the first quarter of 2025 was $3.4 million, or $0.04 per adjusted diluted share, compared to adjusted net income of $14.4 million, or $0.18 per adjusted diluted share, for the first quarter of 2024. The reduction in adjusted net income and adjusted diluted earnings per share in the first quarter of 2025 was primarily attributable to the reduction in net sales.
For the first quarter of 2025, adjusted EBITDA was $59.1 million, a decrease of $15.9 million, or 21.2%, compared to $75.0 million for the first quarter of 2024. Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of net sales was 13.9% for the first quarter of 2025, compared to 15.8% for the first quarter of 2024.
Segment Results(2)
The Company operates in, and reports results by, four business segments (also referred to as business units):
Specialty — includes, among others, the Crisco, Clabber Girl, Bear Creek, Polaner, Underwood, B&G, Grandma’s, New York Style, Don Pepino, Sclafani, B&M, Baker’s Joy, Regina, TrueNorth, Static Guard, SugarTwin and Brer Rabbit brands.
Meals — includes, among others, the Ortega, Maple Grove Farms, Cream of Wheat, Las Palmas, Victoria, Mama Mary’s, Spring Tree, McCann’s, Carey’s and Vermont Maid brands.
Frozen & Vegetables — includes the Green Giant and Le Sueur brands.
Spices & Flavor Solutions — includes, among others, the Dash, Spice Islands, Weber, Ac’cent, Tone’s, Trappey’s, Durkee and Wright’s brands.
Specialty Segment Results
Specialty segment results were as follows (dollars in thousands):
| | | | | | | | | | |
| First Quarter Ended | | | | | |
| March 29, | | March 30, | | | | | |
| 2025 | | 2024 | | | $ Change | | % Change |
Specialty segment net sales | $ | 134,400 | | $ | 154,729 | | $ | (20,329) | | (13.1)% |
Specialty segment adjusted expenses | | 100,880 | | | 117,537 | | | (16,657) | | (14.2)% |
Specialty segment adjusted EBITDA | $ | 33,520 | | $ | 37,192 | | $ | (3,672) | | (9.9)% |
The decrease in Specialty segment net sales was primarily due to lower net pricing and decreased volumes across the Specialty business unit in the aggregate. The decrease in Specialty segment adjusted EBITDA was primarily due to a decrease in net sales, offset in part by an increase in segment adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of net sales.