ORRVILLE, OHIO — Yearly income for The J.M. Smucker Co. was down 3% on higher commodity prices as well as the company’s purchase of Rowland Coffee and restructuring costs.
For the year ended April 30, the company had an income of $479,482,000, equal to $4.06 per share on the common stock, which compared with income of $494,138,000, or $4.15 per share, during fiscal 2010. Sales for the year were $4,825,743,000, up 5% from $4,605,289,000 during the previous year.
“Our long-term focus and strategy of owning and marketing leading brands have allowed us to deliver another year of strong sales and earnings,” said Tim Smucker, chairman of the board and co-chief executive officer. “We are gratified to have achieved these results in a challenging operating environment. Our ongoing success provides opportunities to return value to our shareholders. During the year, we repurchased over 4% of our outstanding common shares and increased the dividends paid by 17%. Total shareholder return for 2011 exceeded 25% reflecting the impact of these actions.”
For the fourth quarter ended April 30, the company had income of $94,880,000, or 82c per share, down 21% from $120,606,000, or $1.01 per share, in the same period a year ago. Sales for the quarter were $1,187,167,000, up 11% from $1,069,079,000 during the same quarter of the previous year.
“As we begin the new fiscal year, we remain focused on building our brands while navigating through this period of commodity cost volatility,” said Richard Smucker, executive chairman and co-chief executive officer. “We continue to demonstrate our ability to effectively manage these challenges while providing value to our consumers. With a number of key initiatives and new products planned for 2012, along with contributions from the recently acquired Rowland Coffee Roasters brands, we are confident in providing full-year earnings per share guidance that is consistent with our stated long-term growth objectives.”
For the full-year 2012 the company expects net sales to increase about 20% and anticipates earnings per share in the range of $5 to $5.15.