Treehouse Foods (NYSE: THS) reported Q4 EPS of $0.99, $0.14 worse than the analyst estimate of $1.13. Revenue for the quarter came in at $903.5 million versus the consensus estimate of $942.67 million.

FY15 Outlook:

The Company continues to assume a cautious stance regarding the 2015 outlook for the food industry. TreeHouse anticipates that its sales will grow 23%-24% in 2015, driven primarily by the full year contribution of the Protenergy Natural Foods and Flagstone Foods acquisitions. The North American Retail Grocery segment is projected to deliver legacy organic sales growth of 2%-3% in 2015.

The Company's expectations for top line growth in 2015 take into account the negative effect of the significantly lower Canadian exchange rates that will reduce the U.S. dollar sales of the Company's Canadian subsidiaries. TreeHouse has assumed an average Canadian exchange rate of CAD$0.80-$0.82 for 2015, compared to CAD$0.91 in 2014. This represents an approximate $0.30 headwind to earnings per share.

Gross margin is expected to be roughly flat year over year, driven by the margin headwinds from the foreign exchange challenges and lower gross margin contribution from the Protenergy Natural Foods and Flagstone Foods acquisitions, offset by internal improvements and other savings initiatives.

Selling, general and administrative expenses are expected to see a very small increase as a percent of net sales. The Company expects to incur higher stock compensation expense of $7-$8 million in 2015 due to the higher number of participants following the acquisitions of Protenergy Natural Foods and Flagstone Foods. Also, the Company plans to make additional investments in systems implementation to more quickly bring its newest acquisitions onto the SAP platform.

Net interest expense is expected to increase by approximately $5-$7 million as a result of the higher debt levels from the acquisitions of Protenergy Natural Foods and Flagstone Foods.

Taxes are expected to rise resulting in an effective rate that is close to 35% as a result of both higher income, as well as the shift to more U.S. versus Canadian income, and therefore is subject to a higher tax rate.

The Company anticipates full year 2015 adjusted earnings per share of $3.80-$3.95. The Company also anticipates weighted average shares outstanding will average approximately 44 million shares for the year. In regards to the first quarter of 2015, the Company expects earnings will be challenged due to the ongoing weakness in foreign exchange and the timing of shipments to a large customer. As a result, first quarter adjusted earnings per share are expected to be in the range of $0.55 to $0.60 per share. These first quarter estimates are already considered in the full year adjusted earnings per share guidance of $3.80 to $3.95.

Guidance Comparisons:

Treehouse Foods sees FY2015 EPS of $3.80-$3.95, versus the consensus of $4.17.

Treehouse Foods sees Q1 2015 EPS of $0.55-$0.60, versus the consensus of $0.94.

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