Earnings Preview For The Hershey Company (HSY)

The Hershey Company

is expected to publish its Q1 earnings before the markets open on Tuesday, April 26. Analysts are expecting earnings per share to reach $0.70. Roughly two months ago, analysts upgraded their estimates by $0.01. Last year, the company reported earnings of $0.64 per share. The Hershey Company, known until April 2005 as the Hershey Foods Corporation, is the largest chocolate manufacturer in North America. The Hershey-based company's principal product groups include chocolate and confectionery products, gum and mint refreshment products, and pantry items, such as baking ingredients, toppings and beverages. It operates as a single segment in manufacturing, marketing, selling and distributing various package types of chocolate and sugar confectionery products, pantry items, and gum and mint refreshment products under more than 80 brand names. Its five operating segments consist of geographic regions, including the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, and other international locations, such as India, Korea, Japan, the Middle East, China and the Philippines. The company markets its products in approximately 60 countries. In January 2011, it was operating under a matrix structure, and its business was organized around three categories: geographic regions, strategic business units and its global marketing organization. The company currently employs around 13,700 people. Two weeks ago, Goldman Sachs upgraded Hershey's rating to “neutral” from “sell”. The news helped push Hershey to a one-year high of $57.30 on April 15, but its shares lost some of their value in the coming days. At the end of last week, Hershey's shares were trading at $56.75, still above the mean target value of $55.17. Hershey's Q1 revenue is predicted to be $1.48 billion – up 5.5% on a yearly basis. Analysts are expecting slower economic activity in the rest of the year, however. For the year as a whole, revenues are projected to be 5.1% up on last year. As a result, if Hershey is to reach its one-year high again, it might need to pull out a big surprise on Tuesday.