What happened
Shares of J.M. Smucker Co. (SJM 2.35%) fell 9.5% on Thursday after the company announced weaker-than-expected fiscal first-quarter 2018 results.
Smucker's revenue declined 3.7% year over year to $1.749 billion, while adjusted earnings per share fell 18.8% to $1.51. By comparison, investors were looking for higher adjusted earnings of $1.62 per share on revenue of $1.81 billion.
IMAGE SOURCE: J.M. SMUCKER CO.
So what
CEO Mark Smucker remained optimistic, stating:
While our first quarter results fell slightly short of our projections, primarily driven by lower than anticipated volume for Folgers roast and ground coffee, we have taken actions to improve our competitive positioning at Folgers. As a result, volume trends are improving. In addition, we remain pleased with the performance of the remainder of our coffee portfolio and look forward to the launch of new coffee products later this fiscal year.
More specifically, Smucker Co. endured a 5% impact to net sales from lower volume and mix across "several categories." But it primarily blamed weakness from its coffee and oils products, which were offset by growth in the pet food segment.
Now what
Looking ahead to the full fiscal year of 2018, Smucker reduced its guidance for adjusted earnings per share to be in the range of $7.75 to $7.95 (down from $7.85 to $8.05 previously).
All things considered, this wasn't a terrible quarter from J.M. Smucker. But with shares already down more than 20% over the past year leading up to the report, the market was obviously hungry for stronger results from the food products giant. So while it may have taken the action necessary to spur growth from its underperforming coffee segment, it's no surprise to see J.M. Smucker stock extend its losing streak today.
