Breakfast cereal maker Kellogg Co missed fourth-quarter profit and sales estimates on Thursday, hurt by higher spending on advertising and promotions, as well as pandemic-related costs.
Selling, general and administrative expenses rose nearly 10% in the quarter to $800 million.
Kellogg, which also makes Pringles, Cheez-Its and Pop-Tarts, forecast organic net sales to fall by about 1% in 2021, compared with a growth of 6% in 2020.
Many consumers, who resorted to eating at home during the height of the pandemic, have also cut purchases of frozen foods and ready-to-eat snacks and returned to ordering in.
While demand for packaged foods has stayed elevated into the current quarter, they are below the levels seen during the panic-buying stage.
Net sales rose to $3.46 billion in the three months ended Jan. 2, from $3.22 billion a year earlier. Analysts were expecting sales of $3.50 billion, according to IBES Refinitiv.
Excluding items, Kellogg earned 86 cents per share, beating analysts’ average estimate of 89 cents.
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