HJ Heinz (HNZ $51.54 -0.51) reported first quarter earnings of $0.78
per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ
Consensus Estimate of $0.76.
Revenues rose 14.9% year/year to $2.85 billion versus the $2.79 billion
consensus.
In fiscal year 2012, the company reaffirmed its FX adj. EPS of $3.24 to $3.32
ex-items, may not be comparable to $3.35 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
Heinz continues to expect constant currency sales growth of 7% to 8% and EPS
growth of 6 to 8% for the full year in Fiscal 2012 (as reported cons: +9.6%),
including higher costs for Project Keystone, while excluding the special charges
for productivity initiatives. Heinz also expects strong operating free cash flow
of approx. $1.15 billion for Fiscal 2012, before special charges. On a reported
basis, operating free cash flow is expected to exceed $1 billion.
Heinz expects second-quarter EPS to be in-line with, or slightly higher than
prior year, which was $0.75, this guidance appears to be on a GAAP basis, which
may not compare to the $0.85 consensus.






