The shares of Post Holdings Inc (NYSE:POST) climbed after the consumer packaged goods holding company reported strong quarterly earnings.
The stock price of Post Holdings Inc (NYSE:POST) were trading $40.96 per share, up by more than 6% at the time of this writing around 12:33 in the afternoon in New York.
Post Holdings Q4 results
Post Holdings Inc (NYSE:POST) generated adjusted earnings of $6.9 million or $0.13 per share for the fourth quarter. Its net sales increased 257.6% to $1.04 billion. According to the company, its acquisitions contributed $794.6 million to its consolidated net sales for the period.
The financial results of the company exceeded the $0.07 in earnings per share and $980.04 million in sales estimated by Wall Street analysts.
During the quarter, Post Holdings Inc (NYSE:POST) said its selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses increased to $137.9 million. The company recorded $295.6 million in non-cash goodwill and intangible asset impairment charges within the Post Foods and Active Nutrition segments.
Segment results
Post Holdings Inc (NYSE:POST) generated $248.5 million in sales from its Post Foods segment, down by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. According to the company, its profit and revenue growth expectations for the Post Foods segment will be challenging in the medium and long-term. Post Foods included branded RTE cereals.
The company’s net sales from its Active Nutrition business increased 8.5% to $98.8 million. Post Holdings Inc (NYSE:POST) remained confident in the long-term growth opportunities for its Active Nutrition segment, which distributes high protein shakes, bars and powders as well as nutrition supplements.
Its net sales from Michael Foods were $534.3 million, an increase of 9.7%. Michael Foods manufactures and distributes value-added egg products and refrigerated potato products. It also distributes cheese and other dairy vase products.
The company’s Private Brands delivered $137.5 million in sales, up 7% while its Attune Foods business posted $24.8 million in net sales, an increase of 2.5% in the fourth quarter.
Business outlook
Post Holdings Inc (NYSE:POST) estimated that it would be able to achieve adjusted EBITDA in the range of $540 million to $580 million for the fiscal 2015. For the first quarter, the company expected to generate adjusted EBITDA of around $115 million to $120 million.
