UPDATE: Pinnacle Foods Posts In-Line Q2 Earnings, Revenue Misses Estimates

Pinnacle Foods

reported in-line earnings for the second quarter. However, the company's sales missed analysts' estimates. The Parsippany, New Jersey-based company posted a quarterly profit of $35.6 million, or $0.30 per share, versus a year-ago loss of $31.8 million, or $0.28 per share. Excluding certain items, its earnings per share climbed to $0.33 from $0.27. Its net sales climbed 8.6% to $617.8 million. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.33 per share on revenue of $629 million. Pinnacle Foods' net sales in Duncan Hines Grocery segment jumped 21% to $290 million, while sales for the Birds Eye Frozen segment rose around 1% to $246.2 million. Net sales for the Specialty Foods segment fell about 5% to $81.6 million. North America retail net sales climbed 11.0% to $536.2 million in the quarter. Adjusted EBITDA on a pro forma basis surged 17.5% to $105.9 million from $90.1 million. Its gross margin widened to 26.3% versus 25.4%. The company reaffirmed its earnings forecast for the year. Pinnacle Foods said it received $163 million merger termination fee at the beginning of third quarter. Pinnacle Foods Chief Executive Officer Bob Gamgort said, "We continue to execute well in an increasingly challenging environment. Our business model has proven to be resilient in a food industry characterized by weak growth and heavier promotional spending. We have been able to strike the right balance between investing in our brands, remaining price competitive and delivering strong earnings growth, and we are pleased that we delivered another quarter of market share growth." Pinnacle Foods shares fell 0.68% to $30.73 at 11:45 a.m. ET.