Consumer Staples
Packaged Foods
$11.62B
9K
The J. M. Smucker Company manufactures and markets branded food and beverage products worldwide. It operates in four segments: U.S. Retail Coffee, U.S. Retail Frozen Handheld and Spreads, U.S. Retail Pet Foods, and Sweet Baked Snacks. The company offers coffee, pet snacks, peanut butter, cat food, frozen handheld products, sweet baked goods, fruit and specialty spreads, portion control products, baking mixes and ingredients, toppings and syrups, dog food, cookies, frozen sandwiches and snacks, hot beverages, frozen handheld products, and flour. It provides its products under the Folgers, Café Bustelo, Dunkin’, Jif, Smucker’s, Smucker’s Uncrustables, Meow Mix, Milk-Bone, Pup-Peroni, Canine Carry Outs, Hostess, Voortman, 1850, Robin Hood, and Five Roses brands. The company sells its products through direct sales and brokers to food retailers, club stores, discount and dollar stores, online retailers, pet specialty stores, distributors, drug stores, military commissaries, mass merchandisers, supermarket chains, national mass retailers, convenience stores, vending channels, and foodservice distributors and operators. The J. M. Smucker Company was founded in 1897 and is headquartered in Orrville, Ohio.
Key insights and themes extracted from this filing
Net sales decreased to $1.94B from $2.21B in the prior year, a 12% decrease. This decline is primarily attributed to the divestiture of the pet food brands, which contributed $385.0M in sales in the prior year. Excluding the divestiture and foreign currency exchange, net sales increased by 7%.
Gross profit increased to $724.2M from $701.1M, a 3% increase. Gross profit margin improved to 37.4% from 31.8% in the prior year. This improvement is attributed to higher net price realization, lower green coffee costs, and favorable volume/mix.
Net income increased to $194.9M from $191.1M in the prior year, a 2% increase. Earnings per common share - assuming dilution increased to $1.90 from $1.79.
The company completed the acquisition of Hostess Brands for approximately $5.5 billion. The acquired business is expected to contribute approximately $650.0 million in net sales in 2024 and cost synergies of approximately $100.0 million are expected to be achieved by the end of 2026.
The company entered into definitive agreements to sell the Sahale Snacks and Canada condiment businesses. These divestitures are expected to close in the third quarter of 2024 and are valued at approximately $34.0 million and $20.0 million, respectively.
The company is investing $1.1 billion to build a new manufacturing facility and distribution center in McCalla, Alabama, dedicated to the production of Smucker's Uncrustables frozen sandwiches. Production is expected to begin in 2025.
Total integration costs related to the acquisition of Hostess Brands are anticipated to be approximately $210.0 million. These costs include transaction costs, employee-related costs, and other transition and termination charges.
A restructuring program was approved by the Board during 2021 and was considered complete as of April 30, 2023. The costs incurred associated with these restructuring activities included other transition and termination costs related to our cost reduction and margin management initiatives.
The company acknowledges that overall, broad-based supply chain disruptions and the impact of inflation remain uncertain. They will continue to evaluate the nature and extent to which supply chain disruptions and inflation will impact the business.
The company acknowledges risks associated with the acquisition of Hostess Brands, including difficulties in achieving anticipated cost savings, synergies, and business opportunities. There are also difficulties in the integration of operations and systems.
Approximately 21 percent of full-time employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements. If a strike or work stoppage were to occur, the business, financial condition, and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.
A significant portion of the company's assets is composed of goodwill and other intangible assets. A material impairment in the carrying value of acquired goodwill or other intangible assets could negatively affect the consolidated operating results and net worth.
General competitive activity in the market, including competitors' pricing practices and promotional spending levels, is a risk factor that could impact the company's performance.
The concentration of certain of the company's businesses with key customers and suppliers, including single-source suppliers of certain key raw materials and finished goods, and the ability to manage and maintain key relationships is a risk factor.
The impact of food security concerns involving either the company's products or its competitors' products, including changes in consumer preference, consumer litigation, actions by the FDA or other agencies, and product recalls is a risk factor.
The company is working to achieve cost savings related to its restructuring and cost management programs in the amounts and within the time frames currently anticipated.
The company has an agreement with a third-party administrator to provide an accounts payable tracking system and facilitate a supplier financing program, which allows participating suppliers the ability to monitor and voluntarily elect to sell the company's payment obligations to a designated third-party financial institution.
Disruptions or inefficiencies in the company's operations or supply chain, including any impact caused by product recalls, political instability, terrorism, armed hostilities (including the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine), extreme weather conditions, natural disasters, pandemics (including the novel coronavirus), work stoppages or labor shortages, or other calamities is a risk factor.
The company is focused on the success and cost of marketing and sales programs and strategies intended to promote growth in its business, including product innovation.
A disruption, failure, or security breach of the company's or its suppliers' information technology systems, including, but not limited to, ransomware attacks is a risk factor.
The new manufacturing facility in McCalla, Alabama, dedicated to the production of Smucker's Uncrustables frozen sandwiches, will likely incorporate advanced technologies to improve efficiency and productivity.
The company's ability to generate sufficient cash flow to continue operating under its capital deployment model, including capital expenditures, debt repayment to meet its deleveraging objectives, dividend payments, and share repurchases is a risk factor.
During the first six months of 2024, the company repurchased approximately 2.4 million common shares for $362.8 million under the 10b5-1 Plan, and approximately 1.1 million common shares remain available for repurchase.
Dividend payments were $213.2 and $213.5 in the first six months of 2024 and 2023, respectively, and quarterly dividends declared per share were $1.06 and $1.02 in the first six months of 2024 and 2023, respectively. The declaration of dividends is subject to the discretion of the Board and depends on various factors.
The 10-Q filing does not contain any specific information on environmental, social, or governance (ESG) initiatives. Therefore, it is not possible to provide headlines and rationales based on specific information from the filing.
The company expects a dynamic macroeconomic environment to persist through the remainder of 2024, although with less volatility than experienced in 2023. An increase in costs may require the company to implement price increases across its business in 2024.
The company anticipates the price elasticity of demand will remain elevated throughout 2024 while consumers continue to experience broader inflationary pressures.
Significant disruptions in the company's supply chain could occur if certain geopolitical events continue to impact markets around the world, including the impact of potential shipping delays due to supply and demand imbalances, as well as labor shortages.