Even as the food industry copes with inflationary cost pressures, McCormick & Co., a Sparks-based spice firm, reported record sales and profit for the third quarter of fiscal 2007 last week.
For the quarter that ended Aug. 31, McCormick?s earnings increased 32 percent to $57 million, or 43 cents per share, from $43 million, or 32 cents per share, during the same period in 2006.
Net sales increased 8 percent to $716 million from $663 million during the third quarter of fiscal 2006.
The company benefited from increased international sales, as sales in the Asia/Pacific region increased 21 percent and sales in Europe increased 12 percent in the quarter.
McCormick?s numbers continue to rise as the food industry deals with increasing costs, especially for cheese, flour, soy and pepper.
“Despite higher material costs, our net income and earnings per share were on target,” Robert J. Lawless, McCormick?s chairman and CEO, said in a statement.
Cost-saving measures have also aided McCormick?s profitability. The company is halfway through a three-year restructuring program that will close plants and eliminate as many as 1,000 jobs.
“We … are realizing cost savings from our actions to simplify our business and improve profitability,” Lawless said in a statement.
Even during times of price pressures, McCormick is strongly positioned because it controls more than half the spice and seasoning market in North America, said Ann Gilpin, an analyst who tracks McCormick for Morningstar, a Chicago-based investment research firm.
“McCormick is one of only a handful of global firms that have expertise across all flavor disciplines, making it a one-stop shop for packaged food companies and restaurant chains looking for new flavors or textures to add to their products,” Gilpin wrote in a recent report on the company.
McCormick & Co. is part of The Examiner Top 10, a portfolio of some of the largest publicly traded companies in the Baltimore region.
