Dave's Killer Bread Brand Boosts Flowers Foods

Flowers Foods, Inc. has bolstered its bread portfolio in recent years, and the recently released 2017 Q2 results point to Dave's Killer Bread as one of the biggest breadwinners of the bunch.

"We continue to take decisive action to focus on the consumer and become a more efficient, streamlined organization," said Allen Shiver, Flowers Foods President and CEO, in the release. "Our portfolio of bread brands, bolstered by the strength of Dave's Killer Bread, continues to gain market share and improve our competitive position. In our cake business, we are taking action to address share losses and improve profitability. Our business is generating strong free cash flow and supporting shareholder returns, our solid financial position, and strategic investments."

As the company continues to fortify its strategy, Shivers nodded towards shifts to meet a changing consumer.

"We are executing on our strategic priorities under Project Centennial," Shiver continued. "During the quarter, gross margins increased and manufacturing efficiencies improved. Our cost savings initiatives moved forward in line with our expectations, and we began transitioning to a new, lower-cost, performance-driven structure designed to better address the changing consumer and operating environment. We're on track with our progress, but as our updated guidance reflects, we are realistic about the evolving consumer environment. Our team is driving hard to build shareholder value by reducing costs, strengthening the core business, and capitalizing growth opportunities within the large bakery category."

Other highlights from the second quarter summary include:

• Sales decreased 0.9% to $926.6 million. Excluding sales related to a divestiture, sales decreased 0.4%
• Diluted EPS decreased 12.5% to $0.21
• Adjusted diluted EPS decreased 7.7% to $0.24
• Net income decreased 12.5% to $44.7 million
• Adjusted net income decreased 7.8% to $50.5 million
• Adjusted EBITDA decreased 5.2% to $113.7 million

In the statement, the company noted that the overall softness in the fresh bakery category, a competitive marketplace, and the divestiture of the mix manufacturing business in January 2017 resulted in the consolidated sales decline, which was partially offset by a net increase in sales of branded organic breads. The company nodded to Dave’s Killer Bread as a driving force behind the category.

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