Hormel Foods Corp. (HRL) lowered its fiscal 2013 earnings guidance, blaming higher input costs, softer sales of refrigerated retail products and lower-than-expected results from its pork operations.
Shares dropped 9% to $36.99 premarket as the meat and packaged-food producer estimated full-year earnings between $1.88 and $1.96 a share, down from its February forecast of $1.93 to $2.03 a share. The stock has climbed 30% since the start of the year through Monday's close.
Hormel, whose food brands also include Spam canned pork and Dinty Moore stew, has posted improved revenue for over three years as cost-conscious consumers choose to eat at home more often. But rising commodity costs and shoppers' resistance to higher prices have pressured the company's margins.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: Dow Jones