Hormel Foods Q2: Inline EPS, 4% Sales Decline, Solid H2 Expectation & More

Hormel Foods Corp HRL reported a second-quarter FY23 sales decline of 4% year-on-year to $2.98 billion, missing the consensus of $3.05 billion.
Net sales for Retail decreased 4% Y/Y, Foodservice fell 3%, and International declined 3%.
EPS of $0.40 was in-line with the analyst consensus.
Gross margin contracted 140 basis points Y/Y to 16.5%. The operating margin was 9.9%, and operating income for the quarter fell 11.6% to $295.8 million.
Selling, general and administrative expenses decreased 5.4% Y/Y to $212.5 million.
The company held $598 million in cash and equivalents as of Apr. 30, 2023. Operating cash flow for the quarter totaled $208 million.
"We expect sales and earnings growth in the back half of the year. We anticipate continued growth from our Foodservice segment and an inflection in our International segment to be the primary drivers for growth," said Jim Snee, chairman, president and CEO.
Outlook, reaffirmed: Hormel sees FY23 net sales growth of 1% - 3%. HRL expects FY23 EPS of $1.70-$1.82 versus the consensus of $1.72.
Price Action: HRL shares are trading higher by 2.48% at $39.20 in premarket on the last check Thursday.