ack maker Snyder's-Lance said today that full-year earnings rose by almost one-third, boosted by higher sales of core brands and its shift to focus on premium snack products.The company said net earnings in the year to 28 December rose to US$79m, up from $59.5m in 2012. The company said that this gain came in spite of an increase in its tax rate for the year, which hit EPS by $0.04. Income before interest expenses and tax totalled $138.97m, up 27% on the year.
Snyder's-Lance booked a 9% rise in net revenue, which totalled $1.76bn. The group said growth was "primarily" driven by growth from its core brands. Organic revenue growth totalled 4%, the group added.
Looking to 2014, management forecast revenue growth of 3-5% and EPS growth of 10-16% excluding special items.
Janney Montgomery Scott analyst Jonathan Feeney said that this outlook was "in line" with Janney's model, which expects sales up 3.9% and EPS up 12.8%. Nevertheless, he added that this is the "low end of consensus", which sees sales up 4.7% and EPS growth of 15%.
Shares in the firm were up almost 3% at 10.47 ET.
