Hain Celestial Dives the Most Since 2016 After Earnings Miss

(Bloomberg) -- Hain Celestial Group Inc. tumbled as much as 19 percent -- the most since 2016 -- after reporting a disappointing second quarter and forecasting more weakness ahead. During early trading there was a brief halt to trading for the organic and natural food company.

• Hain whose well-known brands include Celestial Seasonings teas and Terra chips, forecast adjusted earnings per share for the full year that missed the lowest analyst estimate. Chief Executive Officer Mark Schiller said the company is “not satisfied with our near-term performance.” On a call with analysts, he called the report “truly disappointing.”

Key Insights

• The snacking and natural food industry where Hain operates is getting more competitive as big-name manufacturers, including PepsiCo Inc. and private-label rivals, add more better-for-you options to their lineups. Net sales in the second quarter fell 4 percent for the company in the U.S., 5 percent in the U.K. and 8 percent in other parts of the world.
• Food companies have been facing growing pressure from commodities and transport costs, and Hain is no exception: it called out the added headwinds in its latest earnings report.
• Earlier this month founder Irwin Simon hinted that the company may be bought. It didn’t give any further color in the earnings report, but it did say it was planning to simplify the business to focus more resources toward higher margin brands with “mainstream potential.”

Market Reaction

• Shares declined as much as 19 percent to $14.45 on Thursday, the lowest intraday price since October of 2011.
• Read more here.

To contact the reporter on this story: Deena Shanker in New York at dshanker@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anne Riley Moffat at ariley17@bloomberg.net, Lisa Wolfson, Matt Townsend

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