Kellogg Co. (K) reported that its first-quarter net income attributable to the company declined to $311 million or $0.85 per share, from $351 million or $0.98 per share in the same quarter last year. Comparable earnings per share was $0.99 down from $1.08 last year.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $1.03 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
First quarter 2013 operating profit was $503 million, a reported decrease of 4.5 percent; underlying internal operating profit, which excludes the effects of foreign currency translation, acquisitions, dispositions, mark-to-market accounting, and integration costs, decreased by 5.8 percent. The decline in underlying internal operating profit was largely due to the recognition of considerable cost-of-goods-sold inflation in the quarter. Results in the first quarter included a majority of the inflation, net of cost savings, that the company expects to recognize for the full year.
Net sales for the quarter rose to $3.86 billion from $3.44 billion in the prior year quarter. Fifteen analysts had consensus revenue estimate of $3.94 billion for the quarter.
The company also announced that the Board approved a share repurchase authorization of $1 billion, which expires in April of 2014. The company said the authorization supersedes the existing authorization and is intended to allow the company to repurchase shares to offset the impact of proceeds from the exercise of options through the end of 2013, and to begin the company's 2014 purchase plan.
The company reaffirmed its guidance for full-year 2013 reported net sales growth of approximately seven percent. Earnings per share growth, excluding the impact of mark-to-market accounting, is still expected to be between five and seven percent. Integration costs associated with the acquisition of the Pringles business are still expected to be in a range between $0.12 and $0.14 per share. As a result, earnings excluding the impact of mark-to-market accounting and integration costs are still anticipated to be between $3.82 and $3.91 per share. Analysts expect the company to report earnings of $3.87 per share on revenues of $15.25 billion for fiscal 2013.
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