Shares of Lamb Weston Holdings Inc. LW shot up 6.3% toward a three-year high in premarket trading Thursday, after the frozen-potato products seller reported a big fiscal second-quarter earnings beat has higher pricing to counter cost inflation offset a decline in volume. Net income for the quarter to Nov. 27 more than tripled to $103.1 million, or 71 cents a share, from $32.5 million, or 22 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share of $1.28 was well above the FactSet consensus of 74 cents. Sales grew 26.8% to $1.28 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $1.15 billion, as a 30% jump in price/mix offset a 3% decline in volume. The company said supply chain disruptions weighed on volume, as did softer U.S. casual dining and full-service restaurant traffic. The company raised its fiscal 2023 guidance ranges for adjusted EPS to $3.75 to $4.00 from $2.45 to $2.85 and for net sales to $4.8 billion to $4.9 billion from $4.7 billion to $4.8 billion. The FactSet consensus is for EPS of $3.02 and sales of $4.72 billion. The stock, which is on track to open at the highest price since February 2020, has climbed 6.5% over the past three months through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 SPX has edged up 1.8%.
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