McCormick & Co. has reduced its full-year earnings per share forecast despite posting sales and profit growth in the second quarter of its financial year. The US spice manufacturer is cutting its EPS forecast for the full-year by US$0.06 a share to between $2.74 to $2.79 a share due to $9m in costs related to its acquisition of Polish spice firm Kamis and the joint venture it has formed with Indian company Kohinoor Foods. For the quarter ended 31 May, net profit rose 11.2% to reach US$73.6m,... ...Read more »

Fonterra, the world’s largest dairy exporter, has forecast that its payout for farmers could slide in 2011/12 after a “record” 12 months in the current financial year.The New Zealand dairy giant yesterday (24 May) predicted that its payout for the year starting on 1 June would be lower than the current year, when it expects to pay NZ$8.00-8.10 before retentions. The forecast for the current year – when Fonterra expects to see record production – comprises a milk price... ...Read more »

Bread giant Goodman Fielder has announced a reduction in its expected profits following a “soft” third quarter, with businesses affected by retailer competition between Coles and Woolworths, fallout from the floods, commodity costs and the high Australian dollar. “At the time of the release of the company’s Interim results, the company anticipated that NPAT for the year would be in line with the prior year’s normalised earnings. The company now expects FY 2011 NPAT to be in... ...Read more »

Fonterra has recorded its highest ever month for exports with 229,000 tonnes of its dairy products leaving New Zealand shores in March.Gary Romano, Managing Director of Fonterra Trade & Operations, said the record shipments are the result of continued growth in global demand for high quality dairy products from New Zealand. “Our supply chain team were effectively closing the door on an export container every 2.6 minutes. That’s equivalent to 560 containers a day.” “As... ...Read more »

Pick n Pay CEO Nick Badminton said yesterday he was “disappointed” with the performance of South Africa’s second-largest grocer and warned about continuing difficulties in the trading environment as he unveiled an 18% drop in annual profits. Badminton said the fiscal year to the end of February had been the “toughest trading year in the group’s history” as it worked to “transform” the business in “an exceedingly difficult trading environment”. “This... ...Read more »

The chairman of Australian food manufacturer Goodman Fielder has warned that the company “continues to confront commodity cost pressures and significant price volatility”. In a letter sent to shareholders last week, Max Ould said the breads-to-spreads manufacturer said its “challenge” will be to recover the increases in the marketplace. However, he added that it will be “even more difficult” for Goodman Fielder to recover its cost increases “given the extreme... ...Read more »

German food group Dr Oetker has admitted it has had a “sluggish” start to 2011 with all its business lines – apart from chilled products – “falling below target”. The company, which makes products from baking ingredients to pizza, reflected on the first months of 2011 after reporting its sales figures for 2010. Dr Oetker booked an almost 9% rise in turnover for 2010, as sales grew at home and abroad. The Ristorante and Chicago Town pizza maker said it would not... ...Read more »

US spice brand McCormick said on Tuesday that it is “operating effectively in a tough environment” as it recorded net profit growth during the first quarter. The company said that net income grew 13.1% to reach US76.8m in the quarter ended 28 February. McCormick said sales were up 2% to reach $782.8m, which it largely attributed to pricing actions taken in response to increased raw and packaging material costs. “In response to a significant increase in raw and packaging material... ...Read more »

New Zealand dairy co-operative Fonterra has today reported a net profit after tax of NZ$293 million, or 21c per share, for the six months to 31 January 2011, marking the first time Fonterra has reported a profit for the half year. The dairy co-operative said strong international dairy markets were supporting 2010/11 results, which they said is shaping up as one of Fonterra’s best years ever in terms of returns to its farmer shareholders. Announcing the Co-operative’s financial results for the... ...Read more »

Swiss chocolate maker Lindt & Sprungli yesterday posted a jump in 2010 profits as sales grew, boosted by its operations in the US and the UK. The company booked net profit of CHF241.9 million (A$265 million), up 25.3% on 2009. EBIT, meanwhile, rose 22.8% to CHF325.3 million. Lindt said its sales were up 7.3% on an organic basis at CHF2.6 billion. That figure, however, was measured in local currencies. The strength of the Swiss franc dampened growth, with sales in Lindt’s domestic currency... ...Read more »