On February 2nd, Post Holdings Inc. (POST) reported on the first quarter of FY 2023 ending December 31st 2022. The Company reported a net profit of $91 million on sales of $1,566 million with a diluted EPS of $1.52. Comparative values for Q1 of FY 2022 were a loss of $(20.8) million on sales of $1,338 million with a diluted EPS of $(0.25).
Post Holdings operates subsidiary, Michael Foods producing shell eggs, egg liquid and derived products that are sold through the Refrigerated Retail and Food Service Segments. The Company SEC Q-10 filing indicated a value of $569 million for sales of eggs and egg products in Q1 FY 2023 representing 36.2 percent of Company revenue and up 34.3 percent from sales of $362 million in Q1 of FY 2022.
The Refrigerated Retail Segment includes cheese, sausage products, eggs and side dishes. For the quarter, net sales for the segment amounted to $293 million, an increase of 7.3 percent over Q1 of FY 2022 with volumes lower by 4.6 percent. Egg product sales value decreased 32.4 percent due to reduced demand and the loss of approximately two million hens from HPAI in the Knox County NE. Complex. The Refrigerated Retail Segment generated an operating margin of 7 percent with operating profit of $21 million, up 54 percent from Q1 2022.
The Food Service Segment comprising egg and potato products recorded sales of $601 million, up 36.9 percent in value compared to Q1 of 2022. Volume increased by 4.4 percent. The Segment generated an operating margin of 13 percent with an operating profit of $79 million up 423 percent from Q1 2022.
On December 31st 2022 Post Holdings posted assets of $11,355 million against long-term debt of $6,127 million. The Company had an intraday market capitalization of $4,810 million on February 11th. POST trades with a forward P/E of 25.3 and has ranged over a 52-week period from $61.68 to $98.84 with a 50-day moving average of $92.45. Twelve-month trailing operating margin was 8.0 percent and profit margin 14.3 percent. Return on assets over the past twelve months attained 2.5 percent and the return on equity was 26.6 percent.
Post Holdings sold Willamette Egg Farms effective December 1st 2021 for $56 million taking a charge of $6.3 million.
The Company noted the risk of exposure of flocks estimated to comprise 11 million hens to HPAI in the Q-10 filing