Freshpet Inc.’s stock (FRPT, +1.90%) experienced a 10% increase in premarket trading on Monday following the pet food company’s impressive performance in the fourth quarter. The company reported earnings of $15.66 million, equivalent to 31 cents per share, in the fourth quarter. This marks a significant improvement from the year-ago period when Freshpet incurred a loss of $2.59 million or 6 cents per share.
Surpassing Analyst Estimates
Analysts had projected Freshpet to earn just 7 cents per share in the latest quarter, making the actual results a pleasant surprise. The company attributed its higher profit to increased sales, improved gross margin, and reduced logistics costs as a percentage of net sales. However, these positive factors were somewhat offset by escalated media spending of $10.4 million and higher overall expenses.
Strong Revenue Growth
Freshpet’s sales soared to $215.4 million from $165.8 million, outperforming the FactSet consensus estimate of $204.6 million for the quarter. Looking forward, Freshpet is optimistic about its future prospects, with sales projected to reach approximately $950 million in 2024 – surpassing the analyst estimate of $945.5 million.