Retail

Hershey Sweetens Plans for Long-term Growth

Candy maker The Hershey Co. (NYSE: HSY) told an investors’ conference in New York today that the company will raise its investment in five core brands over the next five years “in a disciplined manner, around the world.” The company believes it can grow net sales by 5%-7% and adjusted EPS by 8%-10%.

The strategy centers on the company’s Hershey’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s Kisses, Jolly Rancher, and Ice Breakers brands. Hershey’s also said that the company has an “aspirational” goal of $10 billion in sales by 2017, up from a projected $6.6 billion this year and an actual revenue total of $6.1 billion in 2011.

For the current fiscal year, Hershey expects sales growth of 7%-9% and full-year adjusted EPS growth of 10%-12%. Last year the company posted EPS of $2.82 and the consensus estimate for this year is $3.21, up about 10.6%. No big change there.

The announcement has not done anything for the company’s shares, which are down -0.9% at $68.87 in a 52-week range of $53.83-$71.00 on roughly normal volume. Investors, apparently, anticipated more.

Paul Ausick

Take This Retirement Quiz To Get Matched With An Advisor Now (Sponsored)

Are you ready for retirement? Planning for retirement can be overwhelming, that’s why it could be a good idea to speak to a fiduciary financial advisor about your goals today.

Start by taking this retirement quiz right here from SmartAsset that will match you with up to 3 financial advisors that serve your area and beyond in 5 minutes. Smart Asset is now matching over 50,000 people a month.

Click here now to get started.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.