McCormick & Co.’s stock price surged more than 5 percent Thursday after the company reported sales and operating results for its third quarter that exceeded analysts’ expectations.
The Sparks-based spice company’s shares were up almost 5.4 percent to $101 each in trading Thursday.
McCormick’s actual earnings dropped in its third quarter due to costs related to its $4.2 billion acquisition of Reckitt Benckiser Foods, the maker of Frank’s RedHot sauce and French’s mustard.
McCormick earned $108.2 million in the three months ended Aug. 31, down from $127.7 million in the same period last year. Per-share earnings dipped to 85 cents from $1.
But Wall Street focused on the operating results, which exceeded expectations.
“It was a solid quarter, in our view, with McCormick generating healthy sales growth in both its consumer and industrial segments,” wrote Brittany Weissman, an analyst with Edward Jones, in a research note.
McCormick’s sales in the quarter rose 9 percent to $1.19 billion, from $1.09 billion a year earlier.
Its earnings were suppressed by $31.1 million in costs related to the Reckitt Benckiser acquisition. Backing out acquisition-related costs and another special charge, McCormick said its pre-tax operating income rose 18 percent to nearly $204 million.
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