Shares of Hormel Foods Corp. HRL rose 1.2% in premarket trading Thursday, after the food company, with brands including Skippy, Spam and Natural Choice, reported fiscal second-quarter profit that beat expectations but sales that fell shy, as volumes fell in all business segments. Net for the quarter to April 30 fell to $217.2 million, or 40 cents a share, from $261.6 million, or 48 cents a share, in the year-ago period. That topped the FactSet consensus for earnings per share of 39 cents. Sales fell 3.8% to $2.98 billion, below the FactSet consensus of $3.06 billion. Volume fell 5.6%, with retail volume down 7.1%, foodservice volume off by 1.3% and international volume down 3.8%. In foodservice, volume growth in sliced meats, pizza toppings and premium breakfast sausages was more than offset by a drop in turkey volume and lower pricing, in categories including bacon. Looking ahead, the company expects sales and earnings growth in the second-half of the year, leading the company to affirm its full-year outlook for EPS of $1.70 to $1.82 and for sales growth of 1% to 3%. The stock has dropped 12.7% over the past three months through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 SPX has gained 5.8%.
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