Natural Products  February 26, 2015

Boulder Brands shares slide after 4Q earnings report

BOULDER – Shares of natural-foods company Boulder Brands Inc. (Nasdaq: BDBD) sank nearly 10 percent Thursday following a fourth-quarter earnings report that fell short of analyst expectations.

The Boulder-based company’s fourth-quarter net income was $1.8 million, or 3 cents per share, down from $4.9 million, or 8 cents per share for the same period a year earlier.

Revenue, meanwhile, rose slightly to $128.6 million for the period ending Dec. 31, still nearly $6 million shy of expectations. The company’s shares were trading at $10.34 Thursday afternoon, down $1.14 from the previous day’s close.

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Boulder Brands owns a variety of natural and organic food brands, including Evol, Glutino, Udi’s Gluten Free, Earth Balance, Smart Balance and Level Life.

For 2014 as a whole, the company turned in a $127 million loss that equated to $2.09 per share after making $10 million last year. Revenue, however, was up, climbing from $461.3 million in 2013 to $516.6 million in 2014.

Boulder Brands chairman and CEO Stephen Hughes said in a statement that the rough 2014 results were due to three factors: a weak operating environment for buttery spreads, service issues in the company’s natural segment, and higher costs for egg whites, a key ingredient in the company’s gluten-free baking segment.

“As a result, the company missed the expectations we set in the beginning of the year,” Hughes said.

Sales in Boulder Brands’ Natural segment rose 16.8 percent to $77.4 million in the fourth quarter versus the previous year. But revenue for the Balance segment dropped 13.6 percent to $51.2 million.

Also in the fourth quarter, the company worked through an inventory rebalancing with its largest distributor, which negatively impacted sales growth for the natural segments and Earth Balance, Hughes said.

Boulder Brands updated its outlook for 2015, projecting sales of $550 million to $560 million and earnings per share of 25 to 29 cents.

BOULDER – Shares of natural-foods company Boulder Brands Inc. (Nasdaq: BDBD) sank nearly 10 percent Thursday following a fourth-quarter earnings report that fell short of analyst expectations.

The Boulder-based company’s fourth-quarter net income was $1.8 million, or 3 cents per share, down from $4.9 million, or 8 cents per share for the same period a year earlier.

Revenue, meanwhile, rose slightly to $128.6 million for the period ending Dec. 31, still nearly $6 million shy of expectations. The company’s shares were trading at $10.34 Thursday afternoon, down $1.14 from the previous day’s close.

Boulder Brands owns a variety of natural…

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