THOMASVILLE, GA. — While overall quarter sales at Flowers Foods, Inc. rose 5% in the second quarter ended July 11, the company saw sensational swings, both higher and lower, between its various categories of business, and total sales volume fell 3.3%. Branded retail sales during the quarter jumped 18% from the second quarter a year earlier, store brand sales dropped 11% and non-retail and other sales plunged 16%. Flowers Foods net income in the quarter was $57.92 million, equal to 27¢ per share on the common stock, up 9% from $53.1 million, or 25¢ per share, in the same quarter last year. Results in the current year included restructuring and related impairment charges totaling $10.54 million, up sharply from $2.05 million in the second quarter last year.

Reflecting the shift toward branded retail and away from private label, pricing/mix contributed 8.4 percentage points to sales improvements in the second quarter. The drop in non-retail and other sales reflected the impact of the pandemic on foodservice customers.

“A key driver of our strong performance was the mix shift to branded retail products, which allowed us to leverage costs and increase margins,” said A. Ryals McMullian, president and chief executive officer. “The COVID-19 pandemic was a significant driver of that shift this quarter, and we are actively working to maintain and expand that favorable mix going forward through our portfolio optimization initiatives.”

After holding sales and earnings guidance for the year unchanged after the first quarter, Flowers said adjusted earnings per share in 2020 would fall in a range of $1.15 to $1.25, up 20% to 30% from last year and up from $1 to $1.08 as projected in February. The company revised its sales forecast to $4.3 billion to $4.33 billion, up from $4.1 billion in 2019 and compared with $4.2 billion to $4.3 billion projected in February.

“Looking to the second half of 2020, we are balancing the higher demand and positive mix shift with the increased costs and uncertainty caused by this new environment,” Mr. McMullian said. “We remain committed to our portfolio and supply chain optimization initiatives and our expectation to deliver approximately $10 million to $20 million of savings this year. As part of our ongoing efforts to streamline operations, and to ensure we have the right resources in place to sustain long-term growth, we announced an organizational restructuring in July to further reduce the complexity of our business, improve margins, and ultimately unleash the full potential of our brands and innovation efforts.”

In the six months ended July 11, Flowers net income was $52.15 million, or 25¢ per share, down 56% from $118.96 million, or 56¢. Sales were $2.4 billion, up 6% from $2.2 million.