Hershey Company Updates 2016 Outlook For Net Sales And Earnings - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - The Hershey Company (HSY) announced, the company expects adjusted earnings per share for 2016 to increase 4% to 5%, including barkTHINS dilution of $0.05 to $0.06 per share, and be in the $4.28 to $4.32 range versus a previous estimate of $4.24 to $4.28. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the company to report profit per share of $4.26. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

The company said its full-year net sales are expected to increase around 1%, including a net benefit from acquisitions and divestitures of about 0.5 points and unfavorable foreign currency exchange rates of about 0.75 points. The company continues to expect gross margin to be slightly below last year due primarily to unfavorable sales mix.