Quarterly earnings
Acquisition of cereal brand Weetabix contributes to Post Holdings Q4 sales
Post Holdings acquired the UK-based, ready-to-eat cereal brand in July this year. Weetabix posted net sales of $112.4m during the quarter.
The company produces a range of products in the cereal, granola, and muesli category across North America, including Shreddies, Alpen, Honey Comb, as well as Attune Food which it acquired in 2013. Post Holdings is currently the third largest cereal company in the US.
All these products make up Post Holdings’ consumer brands portfolio, which posted net sales of $492.2m for Q4, an increase of 4.0% or $19.1m compared to last year. Meanwhile, the segment earned net sales of $1.85bn for fiscal year 2017, an increase of 0.7% or $13m versus a year ago.
Overall, Post Holdings reported $5.23bn worth of net sales for the fiscal year 2017, representing a 4% or $199m increase compared to the previous year.
Additionally, Post Holdings’ “active nutrition” segment, which includes snack bar brand PowerBar, recorded net sales of $193.3m for Q4, an increase of 21.6% or $34.3m compared to the same period last year, while net sales for fiscal year 2017 were $713.2m, increasing by 24.1%.
Growth was mainly driven by its shake products, yet partially offset by declines of protein powder and bar products, the company said.
PowerBar, previously owned by Nestlé, recently tapped into the meat snacks market launching its first line of jerky-added nut bars, BakeryandSnacks previously reported.
Post Holdings’ management expects fiscal year 2018 adjusted EBITDA to range between $1.14bn and $1.18bn, exclusive of the pending acquisition of Bob Evans Farms (a producer of refrigerated potato, pasta and vegetable-based side dishes expected to be acquired in Q1 2018), with modest sequential quarterly growth.
