ST. LOUIS — Post Holdings, Inc., a consumer packaged goods holding company, today reported results for the first fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2021.
First Quarter Consolidated Operating Results
Net sales were $1,643.7 million, an increase of 12.7%, or $185.7 million, compared to $1,458.0 million in the prior-year period, and included $97.8 million in net sales from acquisitions made in fiscal year 2021. More information on these acquisitions is discussed later in this release. Gross profit was $424.0 million, or 25.8% of net sales, a decrease of 6.9%, or $31.4 million, compared to $455.4 million, or 31.2% of net sales, in the prior-year period. Results for the first quarter of 2022 reflect the ongoing volume demand recovery of the Foodservice segment and pricing actions across the business, which were more than offset by raw material and freight inflation and higher manufacturing costs. Labor shortages and supply chain disruptions continued to drive manufacturing inefficiencies during the first quarter of 2022, resulting in missed sales, declines in throughput and higher per-unit product costs.
Selling, general and administrative expenses were $257.3 million, or 15.7% of net sales, an increase of 2.5%, or $6.2 million, compared to $251.1 million, or 17.2% of net sales, in the prior-year period. Operating profit was $128.7 million, a decrease of 22.6%, or $37.6 million, compared to $166.3 million in the prior-year period.
Net loss was $20.8 million, a decrease of 125.6%, or $102.0 million, compared to net earnings of $81.2 million in the prior-year period. Net loss/earnings included the following:
By business segment in Q1
Post Consumer Brands: North American ready-to-eat cereal and Peter Pan nut butters.
For the first quarter, net sales were $507.3 million, an increase of 14.0%, or $62.3 million, compared to the prior-year period, and included $65.5 million in combined net sales from the PL RTE Cereal Business and Peter Pan acquisitions. Volumes increased 7.7% (including a 1,640 basis point benefit from the PL RTE Cereal Business and Peter Pan). Excluding the benefit from acquisitions, volumes declined 8.7% primarily driven by continuing broader softness across value and private label cereal products, lapping club promotional activity in the prior-year period for Honey Bunches of Oats and losses resulting from the decision to exit certain low-margin private label business. Segment profit was $71.3 million, an increase of 1.1%, or $0.8 million, compared to the prior-year period. Segment Adjusted EBITDA was $107.7 million, a decrease of 5.3%, or $6.0 million, compared to the prior-year period.
Weetabix: Primarily U.K. RTE cereal and muesli.
For the first quarter, net sales were $118.6 million, an increase of 4.5%, or $5.1 million, compared to the prior-year period, and reflected a foreign currency exchange rate tailwind of approximately 210 basis points. Volumes declined 4.4% as growth in new product introductions was offset by declines in all other products. These declines were driven by lapping increased purchases in the prior-year period resulting from increased at-home consumption in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic and customers increasing inventory ahead of the completion of Brexit. Segment profit was $27.2 million, a decrease of 3.2%, or $0.9 million, compared to the prior-year period. Segment Adjusted EBITDA was $36.1 million, a decrease of 3.2%, or $1.2 million, compared to the prior-year period.
Foodservice: Primarily egg and potato products.
For the first quarter, net sales were $438.6 million, an increase of 23.7%, or $84.1 million, compared to the prior-year period, and included $12.7 million in net sales from the Almark acquisition. Volumes increased 13.3% (including a 150 basis point benefit from Almark), driven by higher away-from-home egg and potato demand in the current year period and potato distribution gains. Egg volumes increased 6.5% (including a 190 basis point benefit from Almark) and potato volumes increased 49.7%. Segment profit was $15.1 million, an increase of 39.8%, or $4.3 million, compared to the prior-year period. Segment Adjusted EBITDA was $41.3 million, an increase of 2.2%, or $0.9 million, compared to the prior-year period.
Refrigerated Retail: Primarily side dish, egg, cheese and sausage products.
For the first quarter, net sales were $273.4 million, an increase of 3.9%, or $10.3 million, compared to the prior-year period, and included $19.6 million in combined net sales from the Egg Beaters and Almark acquisitions. Net sales included $7.1 million and $11.5 million in the first quarter of 2022 and 2021, respectively, related to Willamette. Volumes declined 5.1%; excluding any contribution from Egg Beaters, Almark and Willamette in all periods, volumes declined 7.3%, driven primarily by capacity constraints for side dish and sausage products which resulted in certain products placed on allocation and, when compared to the prior year, caused a reduction in volumes sold. Volume information by product is disclosed in a table presented later in this release. Segment profit was $13.6 million, a decrease of 59.6%, or $20.1 million, compared to the prior-year period. Segment Adjusted EBITDA was $35.6 million, a decrease of 31.3%, or $16.2 million, compared to the prior-year period.
BellRing Brands: Ready-to-drink protein shakes, other RTD beverages, powders and nutrition bars.
For the first quarter, net sales were $306.5 million, an increase of 8.5%, or $24.1 million, compared to the prior-year period. Premier Protein net sales increased 4.5% and volumes declined 5.6%. Premier Protein net sales benefited from higher average net selling prices driven by reduced promotional activity and price increases. As discussed in previous BellRing earnings releases, capacity constraints across the broader shake contract manufacturer network have resulted in certain products placed on allocation and reduced demand-driving promotional activity which caused an expected reduction in volumes sold when compared to the prior year. Net sales for Dymatize increased 40.6%, with volumes up 8.1%, and benefited from higher average net selling prices (driven by price increases and a favorable product mix), strong velocities driven in part by continued category momentum and distribution gains for both existing and new products. Net sales for all other products increased 3.2%.
For the first quarter, segment profit was $50.6 million, an increase of 5.9%, or $2.8 million, compared to the prior-year period. Segment profit was negatively impacted by $2.0 million of transaction costs (related to BellRing’s separation from Post) in the first quarter of 2022 and $4.6 million of restructuring and facility closure costs in the first quarter of 2021, both of which were treated as adjustments for non-GAAP measures. Segment Adjusted EBITDA was $59.8 million, a decrease of 1.5%, or $0.9 million, compared to the prior-year period. First quarter 2022 segment profit and segment Adjusted EBITDA margins were negatively impacted by a decline in gross profit margin driven by higher raw material costs (predominantly whey-based and milk-based proteins) and freight.
