Post Holdings, the US breakfast cereal-to-peanut butter group, has narrowed its forecast for annual adjusted EBITDA, alongside first-quarter results that included flat sales and earnings affected by one-off items.

The company now sees its full-year adjusted EBITDA hitting US$920-950m – compared to an earlier forecast of $910-950m – “with modest favourability” to the second half of the year.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Data Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Related Company Profiles

View all

In the first quarter to 31 December, Post’s net earnings were $97.6m, compared to $25.5m a year earlier. Post’s bottom line was helped by $144.5m of non-cash mark-to-market adjustments and cash settlements on interest rate swaps.

Post’s operating profit fell year-on-year, declining 42.7% to $76.2m. The company pointed to a provision of $74.5m in legal settlements related to egg anti-trust claims.

Net sales inched up 0.1% to $1.25bn. Post said its sales fell 2.2% on a comparable basis due to a drop in sales from egg-to-potato products business Michael Foods, where sales slid by almost 8%.

The company’s Post Consumer Brands arm, which includes its ready-to-eat cereal business, reported a 2.2% rise in sales despite a 0.5% dip in volumes. Better sales from brands including Malt-O-Meal offset lower volumes from its co-manufacturing and government-bid business.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

Post’s Active Nutrition unit, which includes sports nutrition brands like Premier Protein, saw sales jump 32.9%.

The company’s Private Brands division, made up by products including peanut butter and granola, reported flat sales.

Last Friday, Post was named by Reuters as one of four companies set to bid for UK-based breakfast cereal business Weetabix. Post has so far not commented on the reports.

Who will have their Weetabix? – just-food analysis