CHICAGO — ConAgra Foods, the maker of Slim Jim and Chef Boyardee, beat analyst projections on earnings reported Tuesday for the second quarter of its fiscal year 2016, despite a decline in sales.
Led by CEO Sean Connolly, ConAgra is in the midst of change. In November, the company announced it would sell the majority of its private-label business to TreeHouse Foods and, in a separate deal, it's spinning off its Lamb Weston frozen potato business.
The private-label deal is expected to close in early 2016, with the spinoff projected to be complete in the fall. ConAgra is planning to move its headquarters from Omaha, Neb., to Chicago this summer.
ConAgra is also revamping its stable of products in hopes of appealing more to today's consumers, Connolly said Tuesday. In some cases, that means offering new twists on familiar brands; in other situations, that means acquisitions.
"Yes, we have iconic brands, but there's a fine line between an icon and an antique," Connolly said.
ConAgra reported adjusted diluted earnings per share of 71 cents for the second quarter ending Nov. 29, up from 61 cents in the same period a year ago. That increase, boosted by the planned sale of the private-label business, beat the analyst consensus of 60 cents.
Meanwhile, revenue fell to $3.09 billion in the second quarter, a decline of 1.4 percent from the same period a year ago.
ConAgra's consumer foods segment, which includes brands like Marie Callender's, Peter Pan and Reddi-wip, posted sales of $1.98 billion, down 2.9 percent from the same period a year ago.
