Hormel Foods Profit Falls 8 Percent

Thursday, Hormel Foods Corp. said that its fiscal first-quarter profit fell 8 percent. Part of this was because of higher than expected hog costs. But the showing easily beat analyst estimates. The sales of brands such as Spam, Dinty Moore stews and Hormel chili rose as consumers focus on value in the recession. We are all trying to stretch meals any way we can. The company, based in Austin, Minnesota earned $81.4 million, or 60 cents per share. This was down from $88.2 million, or 64 cents per share a year ago. Analysts were expecting profit of 51 cents per share on sales of $1.73 billion. It could have been worse.