ST. LOUIS —Boosted by acquisitions, Post Holdings Inc. closed out fiscal 2024 on a high note as both fourth-quarter and full-year earnings topped Wall Street’s forecast and the company tallied double-digit top-line growth for the year.

Net income for the quarter ended Sept. 30 climbed 24.2% to $81.6 million, equal to $1.28 per diluted share on the common stock, from $65.7 million, or $1.01 per diluted share, a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, net earnings were $100.9 million, or $1.53 per diluted share, versus $110.9 million, or $1.63 per diluted share, in the prior-year period. That surpassed analysts’ high-end estimate of $1.23 in adjusted EPS.

For fiscal 2024, St. Louis-based Post saw a 21.7% rise in net income to $366.7 million, or $5.64 per diluted share, from $301.3 million, or $4.82 per diluted share, in fiscal 2023. Adjusted net earnings came in at $419.5 million, or $6.27 per diluted share, compared with $358.1 million, or $5.34 per diluted share, a year ago. Wall Street’s top-end projection was for full-year adjusted EPS of $5.98.

Post said its 2024 results reflect contributions from acquisitions: a portion of J.M. Smucker Co.’s pet food business in late April 2023 as well as Perfection Pet Foods and Deeside Cereals in early December 2023. Adjusted earnings excluded integration costs, restructuring and facility closure costs, and swap expenses, among other items. Post also cycled a fourth-quarter 2023 goodwill impairment charge of $42.2 million related to its cheese and dairy reporting unit in its Refrigerated Retail segment.

“We finished fiscal ’24 with a strong fourth quarter and are proud of the results for the full year,” chief executive officer Robert Vitale told analysts in a Nov. 15 conference call. “The last two years have seen a step change in adjusted EBITDA, growing by 45%. Roughly half of this resulted from organic growth and half from the pet acquisitions contribution. In addition, we converted this growth into strong free cash flow, generating approximately $1 billion over the past two years.

“In FY24, pricing caught up to input costs,” he noted. “We made continued improvement in our manufacturing supply chains and sustained the remarkable start for our pet business at over two times our acquisition case. Meanwhile, our diversified portfolio, price points and value-added product offerings continue to provide volume offsets to a challenging consumer backdrop. We are now in an attractive position to return to algorithmic growth.”

Fourth-quarter net sales rose 3.3% to $2.01 billion from $1.95 billion a year earlier, according to Post, which cited a $67 million contribution from Perfection Pet Foods. Excluding acquisitions, sales growth in the Foodservice unit was offset by volume decreases in the Post Consumer Brands, Refrigerated Retail and Weetabix segments, the company said. Full-year net sales totaled $7.92 billion, up 13.3% from $6.99 billion in fiscal 2023.

In the largest business unit, Post Consumer Brands, fourth-quarter net sales advanced 3.9% year over year to $1.05 billion, aided by the sales boost from Perfection. Excluding the acquisition, volume fell 6.3%, which Post attributed mainly to a decline in co-manufactured pet food. Operating profit dipped 0.6% to $140.2 million. Fiscal 2024 net sales in the segment – focused primarily on North American ready-to-eat cereal, pet food and peanut butter – jumped 35.5% to $4.11 billion, while operating income surged 42.9% to $541.2 million.

“PCB closed out an exceptional year with a very strong Q4, as both grocery and pet grew their relative profit contributions versus prior year,” chief operating officer Jeff Zadoks said in the call. “Major drivers were annualized pricing, strong sustained performance in cost and manufacturing, and growth from our valued product offerings, more than offsetting lower cereal category volumes and higher advertising spend.

“Within cereal, we saw the rate of category decline slow to 2.6%, which is in line with the pre-COVID historical trend. Our branded portfolio outperformed the category, and private label continued to grow which, given our private label share, accrued to our benefit.”

Post also completed the closing of its Lancaster, Ohio, cereal plant “on time and on budget,” Zadoks added. “While this improves our capacity utilization within cereal, we will continue to evaluate our network for further optimization.”

Net sales in the Refrigerated Retail unit were down 2.9% to $226.5 million for the fourth quarter. Volume edged up 0.7%, with gains of 6% in side dishes and 12.6% in sausage partially offset by distribution losses in cheese (volume down 16.8%) and lower-margin products in eggs (volume down 6.5%), Post said. Operating profit increased 6.7% to $12.8 million. For fiscal 2024, net sales declined 5.6% year-over-year to $962.2 million, while operating income climbed 9.7% to $75.9 million.

“As expected, our Refrigerated Retail business had sequential improvement in Q4 as we course-corrected the trade issues experienced in Q3,” Zadoks said. “We saw year-over-year volume growth of 6% within our side dishes, despite less support from our recalibrated trade spend. Strong manufacturing, supply chain and cost control continue to support this business.”

Foodservice net sales rose 4.7% to $596.1 million in the fourth quarter as volume grew 3.6%. Operating income declined 7.4% to $78.3 million. Full-year net sales were $2.31 billion, down 4.9% from 2023. The segment’s operating profit also decreased, down 11.8% to $308.1 million.

“Moving to foodservice, we delivered a very strong quarter, overcoming challenges from our HPAI (highly pathogenic avian influenza)-driven supply constraints, a pullback in restaurant foot traffic and continued challenges in our shake manufacturing startup,” Zadoks explained. “Overall volumes were up 3.6%, led by distribution gains in both eggs and potatoes. Our highest-margin precooked egg products led the way, up 7.5%.”

Meanwhile, the Weetabix unit – primarily ready-to-eat cereal, muesli and protein-based shakes for the United Kingdom market – saw fourth-quarter net sales rise 3.8% to $140 million. Post said the uptick reflected a $6.8 million lift from Deeside and a foreign exchange tailwind of 270 basis points. Excluding the Deeside impact, volume fell 6.5%, mainly from declines in non-biscuit branded and private-label products, according to the company. Operating profit swelled by 30.5% to $19.7 million. Fiscal 2024 net sales increased 6.1% to $543.2 million, with operating income up 12.2% to $82.9 million.

“At Weetabix, UK cereal category volumes pulled back to down 2% for the quarter, with our branded biscuits down 3% as we lapped heavier promotion last year and we focused on inventory build for our Q1 ERP conversion this year,” Zadoks said. “We are now live on our new ERP, and the early read indicates it is progressing as planned.”

Looking ahead to fiscal 2025, Post projects adjusted EBITDA of $1.41 billion to $1.46 billion, up from 13.8% growth to $1.4 billion in fiscal 2024. The company pegged 2025 capital expenditures at $380 million to $420 million. The capex budget includes investments of $90 million to $100 million for Post Consumer Brands network optimization and pet food safety and capacity and $80 million to $90 million for the Foodservice arm’s precooked egg facility expansion in Norwalk, Iowa, and ongoing cage-free egg facility expansion.