McCormick & Co. shares
MKC,
+0.80%
rose 1.6% in premarket trade Thursday, after the maker of spices and flavorings beat estimates for its fiscal second-quarter and raised guidance. Hunt Valley, Md.-based McCormick said it had net income of $183.7 million, or 68 cents a share, in the quarter to May 31, down from $195.9 million, or 73 cents a share, in the year -earlier period. Adjusted per-share earnings came to 69 cents, ahead of the 62 cents FactSet consensus. Sales rose to $1.557 billion from $1.401 billion, also ahead of the $1.468 billion FactSet consensus. Chief Executive Lawrence E. Kurzius said sales were boosted by the acceleration of consumer trends, with more people cooking at home during the pandemic, as well as two acquisitions, Cholula and FONA, acquired in November of 2020 and December of 2020. "Our results reflect cycling these comparisons as well as a sustained shift to consumer at-home consumption higher than pre-pandemic levels and the strong recovery of demand from away-from-home customers," he said in a statement. The company is now expecting fiscal 2021 sales to grow 11% to 13%, up from earlier guidance of 8 to 10%. The company expects fiscal 2021 EPS to range from $2.83 to $2.88 and for adjusted EPS to range from $3.00 to $3.05, up from earlier guidance of $2.97 to $3.02. Shares have fallen 7.6% in the year to date, while the S&P 500
SPX,
+0.13%
has gained 14%.