Lamb Weston reports strong first quarter

Lamb Weston has released its figures for the first quarter of the 2018 fiscal year and the company said the numbers are positive and that it reaffirms the company’s outlook for the coming year.

“Our strong start to the year reflects a good balance of sales growth, supply chain productivity and cost discipline,” said Tom Werner, Lamb Weston president and CEO.

In the coming months, Lamb Weston is scheduled to start up a new production line in Richland, Washington. Due to developments like that, the company expects to remain on track to deliver on its full-year targets.

“We expect the operating environment to remain generally favorable during fiscal 2018, with solid demand for frozen potato products globally and tight manufacturing capacity,” Werner said.

The company reported net sales of $817.5 million, up 5 percent versus the same period a year ago. Income from operations rose 10 percent, compared to the same period last year, to $137.6 million. That included $2.2 million in costs related to the spinoff from Conagra Brands, formerly ConAgra Foods. Some of that increase reflects the impact of $9.7 million in expenses incurred in the prior year from the Conagra spinoff. Excluding those items, income from operations grew $5.1 million, driven by favorable price/mix and higher volume, which was partially offset by cost inflation.