Lancaster Colony's Earnings Beat Last Year's by 15%

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Lancaster Colony (NAS: LANC) reported earnings on Jan. 31. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q2), Lancaster Colony met expectations on revenues and beat slightly on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue expanded and GAAP earnings per share increased significantly.


Margins grew across the board.

Revenue details
 Lancaster Colony reported revenue of $326.2 million. The three analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected sales of $328.9 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 4.6% higher than the prior-year quarter's $311.8 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
 EPS came in at $1.28. The three earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $1.25 per share. GAAP EPS of $1.28 for Q2 were 15% higher than the prior-year quarter's $1.11 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
 For the quarter, gross margin was 25.0%, 260 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 16.1%, 210 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 10.8%, 110 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $281.6 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.89.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.19 billion. The average EPS estimate is $4.04.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 86 members out of 91 rating the stock outperform, and five members rating it underperform. Among 34 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 33 give Lancaster Colony a green thumbs-up, and one give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Lancaster Colony is outperform, with an average price target of $79.50.

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The article Lancaster Colony's Earnings Beat Last Year's by 15% originally appeared on Fool.com.

Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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