J.M. Smucker’s pet portfolio plunges 40%

J.M. Smucker hit net sales of $441 million (€405M) in its Q1 FY2024, which concluded on July 31. This is a 40% drop compared to the same period last year, which recorded $729 million (€669M).

The company pointed out that excluding $367.7 million (€338.9M) of noncomparable net sales in 2022 related to the divested pet food brands, net sales increased $79.7 million. This is 22% more. 

The pet food segment’s profit went down in the quarter due to the impact of the divestiture and its noncomparable profit from last year. Quarterly profit hit $81.3 million (€74.6M), down from $120.3 million (€110.4M) in the first 3 months of FY2023. 

Increased marketing and distribution costs for JMS’ remaining brands also negatively impacted this quarter’s profit, the company said.

A successful business strategy?

Mark Smucker, President, CEO and Chair of the Board, highlighted the overall growth of the business, attributing this to the success of their business strategy in the dog snack and cat food category. “Our pet segment results this quarter demonstrate the benefits of our recent pet food divestiture,” he stresses.

The manufacturer’s dog snack brand Milk-Bone witnessed increasing demand partially offset by Pup-Peroni dog treat brand. Smucker notes that biscuits and soft and chewy offerings have generated the largest dollar share growth in the dog snacks category over the last year.

As for cat products, Meow Mix also experienced a substantial net sales growth of around 13%. Demand exceeded production capacity for dry cat food in the quarter, Smucker explains. Reacting to this demand, the company has begun replenishing its retailer inventories.