Hershey Reaffirms 2018 Adj. EPS Outlook - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Hershey Co. (HSY) on Thursday reaffirmed its adjusted earnings guidance for the full-year 2018 in the range of $5.33 to $5.43 range, an increase of 14 to 16 percent from 2017.

However, reported earnings are now expected to be in the range of $4.73 to $4.98 per share, an increase of $0.02 per share from the initial guidance.

Full-year net sales are now expected to increase towards the lower end of the previously projected growth range of 5 to 7 percent, as the company implements new initiatives to reduce complexity and improve margins. Net impact of acquisitions and divestitures is estimated to be about 5 points.

On average, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the company to report earnings of $5.36 per share on sales growth of 5.9 percent to 7.96 billion for the year. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

For the first quarter, the company reported net income of $350.2 million or $1.65 per share, sharply higher than $125 million or $0.58 per share in the prior-quarter. Adjusted earnings per share were $1.41, compared to $1.30 per share in the year-ago quarter.

Consolidated net sales for the quarter grew 4.9 percent to $1.97 billion from the same quarter last year. Acquisitions and foreign currency exchange rates were a 3.4 point and 0.5 point benefit to net sales, respectively.

Analysts expected quarterly earnings of $1.40 per share on sales of 1.94 billion.