Thursday, June 24, 2010

ConAgra Foods (NYSE:CAG) Fourth-Quarter Profits Plunge

ConAgra Foods (NYSE:CAG) fourth-quarter profits plummeted, dropping 48 percent on declining commercial food sales.

Earnings dropped to $123 million, or 27 cents a share, while after excluding items, profits came to 39 cents a share, down from the 40 cents the street was looking for.

Revenue also plunged by 5 percent, largely on declining sales to restaurants, as people continue to stay home and eat cheaper.

Operating profits in the commercial-foods division, which supplies restaurants, fell 26 percent.

Guidance from the company has them increasing earnings per share by 8 percent to 10 percent from this year. That would be on the lower end or close to equal to the $1.91 analysts are estimating. Their guidance comes to $1.88 to $1.91 a share.

ConAgra's strategy going forward is to focus more on higher-margin branded foods and move shrink their reliance on commercial food sales, which is a low-margin commodity food business.

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