Ralcorp shares sink after 2Q results disappoint Wall Street

Ralcorp shares sink after 2Q results

ST. LOUIS — Shares of Ralcorp Holdings Inc. closed down more than 6 percent amid volatile trading Friday after the food maker posted fiscal second-quarter results that disappointed Wall Street.

The stock closed down $4.16, or 6.4 percent, at $61.01.

Ralcorp said accounting charges and expenses from its acquisition of Post Foods cut its second-quarter earnings.

After the market close Thursday, the company reported a net income of $46.7 million, or 84 cents per share, compared with $70.2 million, or $1.23 per share, a year ago.

Excluding charges to account for the declining value of some assets and costs related to integrating Post Foods, Ralcorp said it would have earned $1.12 per share, compared with 98 cents, a year ago.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, who typically exclude special items, expected $1.16 per share.

Revenue climbed 2 percent to $965 million, primarily because of snack food sakes at subsidiary Harvest Manor. That was below the average forecast by analysts of $974 million.