Price hikes make B&G Foods profitable in fourth quarter even as it sells fewer goods

Price hikes take B&G Foods to 4Q profit

PARSIPPANY, N.J. — Food processor B&G Foods Inc. on Monday reported a profit for its fourth quarter, compared with a loss a year earlier, as price increases offset a decline in shipments.

The company, which sells Cream of Wheat hot cereals, Underwood canned meats and other foods, said it earned $1.3 million, or 3 cents per share, in the quarter that ended Jan. 2. It lost $1.1 million, or 3 cents per share, a year earlier.

Without a charge for paying off debt, the company said it would have earned 14 cents per share in the most recent quarter.

Analysts, who usually exclude one-time items from their calculations, expected it to earn 16 cents per share.

B&G’s sales, which inched up to $135.6 million from $134.9 million a year earlier, matched analyst forecasts.

For the full year that ended Jan. 2, the company earned $17.4 million, or 44 cents per share, on sales of $501 million. The year before, it earned $9.7 million, or 27 cents per share, on sales of $486.9 million.

B&G shares fell 2 cents to $9.29.