Conagra Brands said steps it has taken to expand profitability are starting to pay off, as the company logged a higher fiscal first-quarter profit despite lower sales.

The food manufacturer, which owns Orville Redenbacher's popcorn and Slim Jim meat sticks, on Wednesday posted a profit of $174.3 million, or 36 cents a share, compared with $164.5 million, or 34 cents a share, a year earlier.

Stripping out certain one-time items, earnings came in at 41 cents a share. Analysts polled by FactSet expected adjusted earnings of 28 cents a share.

Net sales slipped 1.4% to $2.6 billion, roughly in line with Wall Street estimates. On an organic basis, sales were down 1.1%.

Sales across Conagra's grocery and snacks segment decreased 2.6%, as lower sales volumes more than offset higher prices. Sales across the company's refrigerated and frozen unit were down 2.1%, hurt by lower volumes and prices.

John Brase, who stepped into Conagra's top role in June, said the recent quarter marked a solid start to the company's fiscal 2027, with higher-than-anticipated profit and sales largely in line with expectations despite operating in a challenging environment.

"Importantly, we are acting on our previously outlined priorities including restoring margins, increasing investment, reducing complexity, and rebalancing capital allocation, which are translating into measurable progress across the business," Brase said.

Looking ahead, Conagra reaffirmed its outlook for the year, calling for organic net sales to fall between 3% and 1%. Adjusted earnings are projected to come in between $1.40 and $1.50 a share, compared with analyst views for $1.44 a share.

Shares ticked up 2.6%, to $14.49, in premarket trading.