Conagra Brands, which manufactures Mrs. Paul’s and Van de Kamp’s seafood products, along with other major brands such as Healthy Choice, reported net sales for its fiscal fourth quarter declined 2.3 percent, while net sales for its 2024 fiscal year dropped 1.8 percent to USD 12.1 billion (EUR 11.1 billion).
Conagra’s Refrigerated & Frozen segment saw its sales decrease 3.8 percent to USD 1.2 billion (EUR 1.1 billion) in the fourth quarter ending 26 May. The sales decline was driven by a price/mix decrease of 4.7 percent – partially offset by a volume increase of 0.9 percent, Conagra noted.
"Both price/mix and volume were driven by the impacts of our brand-building investments. In the quarter, the company gained unit share in categories such as frozen single-serve meals, frozen sides, and frozen vegetables,” Conagra said.
However, the Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.-based food company’s Refrigerated & Frozen segment posted a USD 713 million (EUR 654 million) operating loss in the quarter as a result of the goodwill and brand impairment charges. Adjusted operating profit decreased 13.1 percent to USD 190 million (EUR 174 million) as higher productivity “was more than offset by the negative impacts of lower organic net sales, cost of goods sold inflation, and increased SG&A [selling, general and administrative expense],” Conagra said.
"Our investments in our brands continued to yield results and again drove volume improvement in our domestic retail business,” Conagra Brands President and CEO Sean Connolly said. “Progress was most notable in our key frozen and snacks domains, where we also saw market share gains. Additionally, our supply chain productivity initiatives enabled us to expand adjusted gross margins, and we continued to strengthen the balance sheet and reduce our net leverage ratio.”
Conagra expects a “gradual waning” of challenging industry trends that were present throughout FY2024 as consumers adapt and establish new reference prices. However, it does not anticipate it to occur fast enough to benefit FY2025.
“We will continue to invest wisely to support our brands and facilitate that process,” Connolly said.
The company said that diluted earnings per share (EPS) for fiscal 2024 decreased 49.3 percent to USD 0.72 (EUR 0.66), and adjusted EPS decreased 3.6 percent to USD 2.67 (EUR 2.45). It projects lower adjusted EPS for fiscal year 2025 of between USD 2.60 (EUR 2.38) and USD 2.65 (EUR 2.43).
Additionally, Conagra projects organic net sales in fiscal year 2025 will be 1.5 percent lower to flat compared to fiscal 2024. It expects its adjusted operating margin to land between 15.6 percent and 15.8 percent.
“Unfortunately, the near-term outlook is not ...
