The Hain Celestial Group is one of the fastest-growing public companies on Long Island and last week, it reported increased profits and record first-quarter sales attributed to its existing brands and brands it recently acquired, as Long Island Newsday reports.
The producer of natural and organic food products and owners of Celestial Seasonings said its earnings rose to $27.7 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2014, which is a 69% increase from the $16.4-million profit the company made in the first quarter of fiscal 2013.
Sales spiked by 33% reaching $477.5 million in the quarter ending Sept. 30, exceeding estimates of analysts.
In the company's Hain Celestial U.S. unit, sales rose 23% to $312 million. Ella's Kitchen, an organic baby food brand, and BluePrint, a line of raw and organic fruit and vegetable juices, helped boost domestic sales, the company noted. Both brands were acquired after the first quarter of 2013.
Sales rose across Hain's numerous food brands, including Earth's Best organic baby food, The Greek Gods yogurt, Arrowhead Mills cereals and grains, and Linda McCartney vegetarian frozen meals.
The company's stock price fell 2 cents in after hours trading, following the earnings report, to $83.35.
"You're continuing to see a trend of eating more and more at home, where you can control what you eat," Irwin D. Simon, founder and chief executive of Hain Celestial, said on a conference call with analysts. "And remember, you are what you eat."
Simon described the company's BluePrint juice brand as a "hot category where we can gain tremendous distribution." He added, "We look to expand this brand into numerous other categories."
Simon also said that Washington state's ballot measure on labeling genetically modified organisms or food was a sign of growing consumer healthy eating habits and demand for nongenetically modified products.
"Eating healthy is not a fad. It's not a trend," Simon said. "It's here to stay."
SOURCE: Long Island Newsday
The producer of natural and organic food products and owners of Celestial Seasonings said its earnings rose to $27.7 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2014, which is a 69% increase from the $16.4-million profit the company made in the first quarter of fiscal 2013.
Sales spiked by 33% reaching $477.5 million in the quarter ending Sept. 30, exceeding estimates of analysts.
In the company's Hain Celestial U.S. unit, sales rose 23% to $312 million. Ella's Kitchen, an organic baby food brand, and BluePrint, a line of raw and organic fruit and vegetable juices, helped boost domestic sales, the company noted. Both brands were acquired after the first quarter of 2013.
Sales rose across Hain's numerous food brands, including Earth's Best organic baby food, The Greek Gods yogurt, Arrowhead Mills cereals and grains, and Linda McCartney vegetarian frozen meals.
The company's stock price fell 2 cents in after hours trading, following the earnings report, to $83.35.
"You're continuing to see a trend of eating more and more at home, where you can control what you eat," Irwin D. Simon, founder and chief executive of Hain Celestial, said on a conference call with analysts. "And remember, you are what you eat."
Simon described the company's BluePrint juice brand as a "hot category where we can gain tremendous distribution." He added, "We look to expand this brand into numerous other categories."
Simon also said that Washington state's ballot measure on labeling genetically modified organisms or food was a sign of growing consumer healthy eating habits and demand for nongenetically modified products.
"Eating healthy is not a fad. It's not a trend," Simon said. "It's here to stay."
SOURCE: Long Island Newsday