Shares of Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE: UTZ), a leading U.S. manufacturer of branded salty snacks, surged 9.87% in the pre-market trading session on Thursday, February 20, 2025. The stock rally was fueled by the company's better-than-expected fourth-quarter results and an optimistic outlook for fiscal year 2025.
For the fourth quarter of 2024, Utz reported adjusted earnings per share of $0.22, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $0.19 by a significant margin. The company's net sales of $341.05 million, however, narrowly missed the estimate of $349.86 million. Branded Salty Snacks, which include the company's Power Four Brands (Utz, On The Border, Zapp's, and Boulder Canyon), saw organic net sales growth of 2.9%, while Non-Branded & Non-Salty Snacks declined by 18.2%.
Looking ahead, Utz provided an upbeat outlook for fiscal 2025, projecting low-single-digit organic net sales growth, driven by continued strength in Branded Salty Snacks. The company expects adjusted EBITDA growth of 6% to 10% and adjusted earnings per share growth of 10% to 15%, fueled by strong productivity cost savings and improved product mix. Additionally, Utz anticipates its net leverage ratio to approach 3x by the end of fiscal 2025.
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