FX.co ★ Flowers Foods Q4 Earnings Beat Market; Sees FY25 Adj. EPS Below Street, Higher Sales - Update

Flowers Foods, Inc. (FLO) has reported an increase in fourth-quarter earnings that surpassed market expectations, despite encountering sluggish sales. Looking ahead to the fiscal year 2025, the company has released its earnings outlook, forecasting adjusted earnings below Wall Street's predictions. Nevertheless, the company anticipates an increase in sales for the year.

For the 53-week fiscal year 2025, Flowers Foods, a leading producer of packaged bakery goods, projects adjusted earnings per share to range between approximately $1.11 and $1.24. Without taking the Simple Mills acquisition into account, adjusted earnings per share are anticipated to be between $1.18 and $1.28.

Wall Street analysts, on average, had projected earnings of $1.30 per share for the company, with these estimates typically excluding any special items.

The company expects adjusted EBITDA to fall within the range of about $560 million to $591 million.

Net sales are projected to be around $5.403 billion to $5.487 billion, indicating a growth of 5.9% to 7.5% compared to the previous year. Factoring out the Simple Mills acquisition, net sales are expected to be approximately $5.180 billion to $5.257 billion, reflecting a growth of 1.5% to 3.0%.

Analysts had been expecting sales to reach approximately $5.22 billion for the year.

In the fourth quarter, Flowers Foods reported earnings of $43.12 million, or $0.20 per share, compared to $35.68 million, or $0.17 per share, in the previous year.

Adjusted earnings for this period were $46.44 million, or $0.22 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations, which pegged earnings at $0.21 per share.

The company's revenue during this timeframe saw a decline of 1.6%, dropping to $1.111 billion from $1.129 billion in the prior year.

In pre-market trading on the NYSE, Flowers Foods shares were priced at $19.36, reflecting a 0.10% increase.