Freshpet Inc Q3 Profit Rises, Beats Estimates

(RTTNews) - Freshpet Inc (FRPT) released earnings for its third quarter that Increased, from the same period last year and beat the Street estimates.

The company's earnings came in at $101.663 million, or $1.86 per share. This compares with $11.895 million, or $0.24 per share, last year.

Analysts on average had expected the company to earn $0.40 per share. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

The company's revenue for the period rose 14.0% to $288.848 million from $253.367 million last year.

Freshpet Inc earnings at a glance (GAAP) :

-Earnings: $101.663 Mln. vs. $11.895 Mln. last year. -EPS: $1.86 vs. $0.24 last year. -Revenue: $288.848 Mln vs. $253.367 Mln last year.

This surge in the third quarter net income reflects the deferred income tax benefit resulting from the release of a $77.9 million valuation allowance in the current period as a result of sustained profitability and the expected future profitability, contribution from higher sales, and decreased SG&A expenses.

For the third quarter, the firm posted net sales of $288.8 million, higher than $253.4 million in the prior year period. The increase in net sales was primarily driven by volume gains of 12.9%, and a favorable price/mix of 1.1%.

Looking ahead, the company has revised its annual outlook. Excluding items, Freshpet now expects EBITDA of $190 million to $195 million, compared with the earlier guidance of $190 million to $210 million.

The company now anticipates annual net sales growth of around 13%, compared with the prior outlook of 13% to 16%.

FRPT was up by 6.54% at $52.43 in the pre-market trade on the Nasdaq.