Freshpet’s stock rises as pet food maker swings to larger-than-expected profit

Freshpet Inc.’s stock
FRPT,
+1.90%
was up by 10% in premarket trading on Monday after the pet food company’s fourth-quarter revenue and profit topped analyst estimates. Freshpet said it earned $15.66 million, or 31 cents a share in the fourth quarter. In the year-ago period, Freshpet lost $2.59 million, or 6 cents a share. Analysts estimated Freshpet would earn 7 cents a share in the latest quarter, according to FactSet data. Freshpet cited higher sales, increased gross margin, and reduced logistics costs as a percentage of net sales for its higher profit. These factors were partially offset by increased media spending of $10.4 million and higher overall expenses. Freshpet’s sales climbed to $215.4 million from $165.8 million, ahead of the FactSet consensus estimate of $204.6 million. Looking ahead, Freshpet expects 2024 sales of about $950 million, ahead of the analyst estimate of $945.5 million.