What happened
Shares of B&G Foods Inc. (BGS 1.19%) were up 10.9% as of 11:50 a.m. EDT Wednesday after the company announced strong third-quarter 2017 results.
More specifically, B&G Foods' quarterly revenue climbed 28.3% year over year to $408.4 million, which translated to a 0.1% decline in adjusted net income to $36.8 million. Adjusted net income per diluted share fell 1.8% to $0.55.
Analysts, on average, were expecting lower adjusted net income of $0.47 per share on revenue of $390.9 million.
IMAGE SOURCE: B&G FOODS.
So what
B&G's top-line growth was primarily driven by the acquisitions of its spices & seasonings business and the Victoria brand in late 2016. Excluding those acquisitions -- both of which are tracking ahead of the company's original projections for sales -- B&G's base business net sales still climbed 3.2% year over year to $328.3 million, in spite of what CEO Robert Cantwell described as a "challenging backdrop in the packaged foods industry."
Cantwell elaborated that Green Giant frozen products delivered double-digit percent growth for the second straight quarter, while Pirate Brands products rebounded nicely with 21% net sales growth. B&G also enjoyed relative strength from smaller brands including Polaner, Underwood, Cream of Wheat, and New York Style.
Now what
Looking forward, B&G also increased its full-year 2017 guidance to call for revenue of $1.660 billion to $1.685 billion (up from $1.64 billion to $1.67 billion) partly thanks to $17.5 million in expected net sales from its more recent acquisition of Back to Nature. B&G reiterated its outlook for 2017 adjusted EBITDA as in the range of $352.5 million to $367.5 million, and for adjusted earnings per share of $2.03 to $2.17.
All things considered, B&G Foods' results weren't exactly jaw-dropping. But it was a strong quarter highlighted not only by modest organic gains, but also the validation of the company's pursuit of acquisitive growth.
