Snyder's-Lance (LNCE) Misses Q4 EPS by 1c; Guides FY17 Below Views

Snyder's-Lance (NASDAQ: LNCE) reported Q4 EPS of $0.38, $0.01 worse than the analyst estimate of $0.39. Revenue for the quarter came in at $652.6 million versus the consensus estimate of $632.89 million.

GUIDANCE:

Snyder's-Lance sees FY2017 EPS of $1.32-$1.42, versus the consensus of $1.52. Snyder's-Lance sees FY2017 revenue of $2.25-2.29 billion, versus the consensus of $2.34 billion.

"We are proud of the significant accomplishments the Snyder’s-Lance team has delivered for our shareholders in 2016,” said Carl E. Lee, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer. “In the fourth quarter alone, we grew our legacy core brands 6.1%, completed the divestiture of the Diamond of California culinary nut business and continued the integration of the remaining Diamond brands. Over the course of 2016, we continued to strengthen our better-for-you product offerings, expanded our portfolio of brands with the acquisition of Diamond Foods, and delivered against our synergy and ongoing continuous improvement goals. Our strategic investments in innovation, marketing and promotion have been successful with our Snyder’s of Hanover® and Lance® brands, and are beginning to bear fruit in our Emerald® and Pop Secret® brands. We have accelerated core branded growth, while expanding our operating margin to nearly 9% in our continuing operations for the year, and almost 10% for the quarter. Our focus on better-for-you snacking continued to be a driver of growth and now represents 33% of sales as we close out 2016. Lastly, our enhanced portfolio, national distribution footprint, multi-channel go-to-market model, and combined sales organization, are already realizing revenue synergies that we will build upon in coming years.”

Mr. Lee continued, “During 2017, we will continue to change the way the world snacks with better ingredients, quality and taste, as we introduce new products and enter new categories, in order to reach more consumers and broaden our customer penetration. We are particularly excited about the innovation we plan to showcase early in 2017, including Wholey Cheese! crackers, Cape Cod thins potato chips, and our new better snacks variety packs. All of these introductions will drive increased scale in our better-for-you categories, and serve as a springboard for expanded brand reach and growth. As we grow, we will remain focused on delivering margin expansion, through both the attainment of expected cost synergies and the ongoing enterprise wide cost-reduction efforts. We will be implementing Zero-based budgeting in 2017 to drive greater efficiency and effectiveness across our entire organization. All of our recent success and disciplined execution of our strategic plan is a function of our dedicated team, and I want to thank all of our associates for their partnership, passion and dedication to achieving our goals.”

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Snyder's-Lance (LNCE) click here.

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