Flowers Industries Misses Estimates, but Keebler Tops Forecast

Flowers Industries(FLO) came up a nickel short of Wall Street's fourth-quarter earnings expectation, while its majority-owned Keebler Foods(KBL) unit, which is being sold to Kellogg, surprised analysts by beating estimates by 5 cents a share.

Flowers, a holding company for a number of baked goods and snack companies, said it earned 16 cents, before any unusual items, in the fourth quarter. The company earned 15 cents in the year-ago period. Seven analysts polled by First Call/Thomson Financial were calling for the company to earn 21 cents in the latest period.

Revenue increased to $1.06 billion, up 4.8% from $1.01 billion in the same period last year.

Keebler, however, painted a rosier picture for the fourth quarter as it prepares for the Kellogg acquisition. Keebler said it earned $53.7 million, or 61 cents a share, above the $44.8 million, or 51 cents a share, it made in the year-ago period. Analysts were projecting earnings of 56 cents in the quarter. Sales were also up, rising to $645.3 million from $612 million a year ago.

Shares of Keebler gained 4 cents, or 0.1%, to $41.87 in recent New York Stock Exchange trading, while Floweres lost 51 cents, or 3.1%, to $16.14.

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