Hostess reports strong Q1 2021 financial results

Kansas City, MO-based Hostess Brands Inc. (Nasdaq: TWNK, TWNKW) reported this week its financial results for the first three months of 2021, ended March 31.

KEY POINTS

• Net revenue was $265.4 million, an increase of 9.0%, driven primarily by the strong performance of Hostess- and Voortman-branded products.
• Gross profit was $95.5 million, an increase of 20.4%. On an adjusted basis, gross profit increased 13.3% primarily from favorable mix and realization of Voortman cost synergies.
• Net income was $26.7 million, or $0.19 per diluted share, compared to $81.7 million, or $0.02 per diluted share, in the prior year period. Adjusted net income increased $8.3 million, or 44.6%, to $26.9 million, resulting in $0.20 adjusted EPS, compared with $0.14 adjusted EPS in the prior year period. The increase in adjusted net income and adjusted EPS was primarily due to higher sales volume, favorable mix and realization of Voortman synergies.
• Adjusted EBITDA was $62.5 million, or 23.5% of net revenue, an increase of 22.5%. The increase was primarily driven by higher Hostess- and Voortman--branded sales, realization of Voortman synergies and operating efficiencies.
• Cash and cash equivalents were $197.8 million as of March 31, 2021. Continued reduction of net leverage ratio to 3.6x driven by strong operating cash flow.

“We had an excellent start to 2021 with strong net revenue and earnings growth across both Sweet Baked Goods and Voortman on top of strong growth in the prior year comparable period," commented Hostess president and chief executive Andy Callahan. "Our brands’ strength drove impressive point-of-sale growth, leading to all-time high market share across several channels."

The company reaffirmed expected consolidated financial results for the full-year 2021, forecasting adjusted net revenue growth of 3% to 4.5%.

See Hostess Brands' full financial release at Business Wire.