Flowers Foods' Ryals McMullian Discusses Third Quarter 2024 Financial Results

Flowers Foods has reported financial results for the company's 12-week third quarter ended October 5, 2024.

"Strong performance by our leading brands and successful execution of our cost initiatives and portfolio strategy drove better-than-expected earnings in the third quarter," said Ryals McMullian, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Flowers Foods. "We handily outpaced the bread category, growing tracked channel sales in both units and dollars. Those results were achieved despite headwinds from a pressured consumer, which also particularly impacted our sweet baked goods and fast food businesses. Additionally, implementation of our portfolio strategy enhanced performance in our away-from-home business, improving profitability of existing business and adding higher margin new accounts."

The company’s third-quarter summary included:

• Net income increased $111.7 million to $65 million, primarily due to growth in operating income from a decrease in legal settlements and related costs, partially offset by higher net interest expense
• Adjusted net income increased 12.4 percent to $69.3 million
• Adjusted EBITDA increased 10 percent to $133.3 million, representing 11.2 percent of net sales, a 110-basis point increase
• Net sales decreased 0.7 percent to $1.191 billion as positive pricing/mix was more than offset by volume declines

"We are narrowing our 2024 financial outlook to reflect greater certainty as we enter the fourth quarter and strong relative performance in the branded retail bread category, partially offset by headwinds from consumer and promotional behavior," McMullian added. "We also expect continued benefits from new business wins and efficiency initiatives. Beyond 2024, our focus remains on enhancing shareholder value and delivering results consistent with our long-term financial targets."

For the 52-week fiscal 2024, Flowers Foods expects:

• Net sales in the range of approximately $5.116 billion to $5.147 billion, representing 0.5 percent to 1.1 percent growth compared to the prior year
• Adjusted EBITDA in the range of approximately $530 million to $542 million, compared to prior guidance of approximately $524 million to $553 million
• Adjusted diluted EPS in the range of approximately $1.24 to $1.28, compared to prior guidance of approximately $1.20 to $1.30

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