Hershey Co. HSY reported Thursday first-quarter profit and sales that rose above expectations and lifted its full-year growth outlook, citing “resilient consumer demand” and strength in its salty snacks business. The chocolate and snacks giant’s stock was still inactive in the premarket. Net income rose to $587.2 million, or $2.85 a share, from $533.5 million, or $2.57 a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share rose 17.0% to $2.96, above the FactSet consensus of $2.67. Sales increased 12.1% to $2.99 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $2.91 billion, with North America salty snacks sales up 19.4%, international sales up 19.0% and North America confectionary sales up 10.6%. Cost of sales rose more than sales, up 13.0% to $1.61 billion, as gross margin contracted to 46.3% from 46.7%. For 2023, the company raised its growth guidance for adjusted EPS to about 11% from 9% to 11% and for sales to about 8% from 6% to 8%. The stock has rallied 13.0% year to date while the S&P 500 SPX has gained 5.6%.
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