Hain Celestial swings to profit in fourth quarter

Hain Celestial Group Inc. Tuesday swung to a profit in the fourth quarter, and reported significantly higher fiscal-year net income, driven by cost savings, acquisitions, joint ventures and introduction of more than 200 products.

Net sales, however, dropped slightly.

The Lake Success-based organic and natural products company, with brands including Celestial Seasonings tea, Earth’s Best baby food, Terra chips and Spectrum oils, posted a net income for the fourth quarter ended June 30 of $313,000, compared to a net loss of $88.6 million in the same quarter a year earlier.

Net income for fiscal 2017 was $67.4 million, a 42.2 percent increase from $47.4 million in fiscal 2016.

Hain Celestial posted net sales for the fourth quarter of $725.1 million, down 1.7 percent from the same quarter a year earlier. Net sales for fiscal 2017 were $2.853 billion, down 1.1 percent from the prior fiscal year. Net sales for the quarter and fiscal year were impacted by currency exchange fluctuations.

“We are pleased to have achieved sales growth in all of our business segments on a constant currency basis in the fourth quarter, despite an ever changing operating environment for food manufacturers and retailers,” Hain Celestial founder and CEO Irwin Simon said in a statement. “Building upon our core platforms and cost savings initiatives, our global team has made significant progress during the year executing on our strategic plan.”

Hain Celestial acquired United Kingdom soup maker Yorkshire Provender and Portland, Oregon-based chilled prepared beans seller Better Bean during the fiscal year. Hain Celestial also entered into a joint venture with Future Group to pursue food marketing and development in India. Hain Celestial also licensed its Rosetto brand of frozen Italian foods to Rosetto Foods LLC.

Hain Celestial forecast that its revenue in fiscal 2018 would be in the range of $2.967 billion to $3.036 billion, an increase of about 4 percent to 6 percent.

Hain Celestial shares fell 1.4 percent Tuesday to close at $40.05 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The stock has risen more than 8 percent in the last 12 months.

In June, Hain Celestial released several quarters of long-delayed financial reports. The financial results showed that net income for fiscal 2016, ended June 30, 2016, fell more than 70 percent from the prior year.

The company had been unable to file its earnings for the past year amid a review of its accounting, after it disclosed in August 2016 it was evaluating its internal control over financial reporting. The accounting review cost more than $20 million, a charge that reduced net income in the first 9 months of 2017, Hain said.