ConAgra Foods Inc. generated net sales of $2.82 billion for the first quarter of fiscal 2011 ending August 2010. This was approximately 2.4% lower than in the corresponding first quarter of fiscal 2010. Net income declined by 11.4% to $146.3 million.
The company has total current assets of $3.99 billion with current liabilities of $2.08 billion. Total assets of $11.65 billion include $3.60 billion in goodwill. The company carries $3.08 billion in long-term debt. Operating profit in the two major segments declined by 15.2% with consumer foods down by 14.4% and commercial foods by 16.6% respectively for Q1 of 2011 compared to the corresponding quarter in the previous fiscal year. The two operating segments do not carry the approximately $8 million in restructuring costs and $7 million related to market-to-market investment in derivatives used to hedge input costs.
ConAgra assigned $129 million to capital expenditure and improvements in property and in plant and equipment during the quarter compared with $117 million for the corresponding quarter in 2010. Poor performance in the Commercial Foods segment is attributed to weak restaurant industry conditions and a low potato crop of inferior quality. The consumer food segment representing 65% of sales was impacted by an “intensively competitive environment” and high promotional spending on specific brands.
“Our fiscal first-quarter margins are lower than planned because of an intense promotional environment and inflation that outpaced cost savings,” said CEO Gary Rodkin. “Our plans are to improve the EPS performance in the back half of the year through increased contribution of recently introduced new products and recent acquisitions.”
Earnings were revised downwards for the second quarter. Shares of the company shed almost a $1 following the earnings release, closing on September 21 at $21.57 compared to a 52-week high of $26.32 and a 52-week low of $20.55.
