(Reuters) – Hershey Co raised its full-year net sales and profit forecasts on Friday, signaling strong Halloween candy sales that it expects to continue into the holiday season.
Halloween is Hershey’s busiest time of the year, making up about 10% of its annual revenue, with sales benefiting for months in advance of the October holiday as retailers place early orders to stock up on Twizzlers, Jolly Ranchers and Kit Kat bars.
After two years of pandemic restrictions on trick-or-treating, candy demand during Halloween is expected to have risen sharply this year, with the National Retail Federation expecting sales to have hit a record high of $3.1 billion.
The Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup maker’s revenue rose 15.6% to $2.73 billion in the third quarter ended Oct. 2. Analysts on average had expected revenue of $2.62 billion, based on IBES data from Refinitiv.
The company said it now expects full-year 2022 net sales to grow between 14% and 15%, compared to the previous forecast of 12% to 14% growth.
It forecast 2022 adjusted profit per share to grow 14% to 15%, compared with the prior forecast of a 12% to 14% rise.
(Reporting by Granth Vanaik and Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; editing by Milla Nissi)
