Hershey Co. Q1 Profit Increases, beats estimates

(RTTNews) - Hershey Co. (HSY) revealed a profit for its first quarter that increased from last year and beat the Street estimates.

The company's bottom line totaled $533.48 million, or $2.57 per share. This compares with $395.80 million, or $1.90 per share, in last year's first quarter.

Excluding items, Hershey Co. reported adjusted earnings of $523.47 million or $2.53 per share for the period.

Analysts on average had expected the company to earn $2.10 per share, according to figures compiled by Thomson Reuters. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

The company's revenue for the quarter rose 16.1% to $2.67 billion from $2.30 billion last year.

Hershey Co. earnings at a glance (GAAP) :

-Earnings (Q1): $533.48 Mln. vs. $395.80 Mln. last year. -EPS (Q1): $2.57 vs. $1.90 last year. -Analyst Estimate: $2.10 -Revenue (Q1): $2.67 Bln vs. $2.30 Bln last year.

-Guidance: Full year EPS guidance: Adj; $7.91 - $8.05