HOBOKEN, NJ. — Hain Celestial Group closed out its fiscal 2025 first half with a bigger sequential and year-over-year loss for the second quarter, along with decreased organic sales across product categories.  

For the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2024, Hain sustained a loss of nearly $104 million, compared with losses of $13.5 million a year earlier and $19.7 million in the first quarter. The Hoboken-based, better-for-you products company said the fiscal 2025 second-quarter loss reflects non-cash goodwill and intangible asset impairment charges totaling $107 million. Adjusted net earnings were $7.5 million, equal to 8¢ per share on the common stock, down from $10.9 million, or 12¢ per share, a year ago. The adjusted earnings result was below Wall Street’s low-end forecast of 10¢ per share.

“Despite a disappointing revenue quarter, we generated strong operating cash flow and continued our progress to further reduce net debt,” Wendy Davidson, president and chief executive officer, told analysts in a Feb. 10 conference call. “We drove sequential improvement in baby and kids, driven by the recovery in infant formula supply, and in meal prep, led by the continued momentum in our soup brands across both regions and growth in Greek Gods yogurt.”

Second-quarter net sales fell 9% to $411.5 million from $454.1 million a year ago, marking a larger year-over-year drop than the 7% decrease in the first quarter. Organic net sales for the second quarter were down 7% — also bigger than the 5% decline in the previous quarter — as volume/mix fell 5% and pricing dipped 2%. North America net sales decreased 14% to $229.3 million, while international sales were down 2% to $182.2 million.

“Sales growth in the quarter was hindered by poor in-store performance in snacks, driven by marketing and promotion effectiveness, as well as short-term supply challenges, particularly in our international segment, where demand outpaced our supply in several of our core categories and brands,” Davidson said. “To address these issues, we have improved in-store marketing activation, added production capacity to rebuild inventory and support growth, and reorganize our customer service supply chain.

“We are confident that these actions — combined with the previously communicated promotional shifts, fully recovered instant formula supply in North America, brand campaign momentum and confirmed distribution gains in both regions — will drive organic net sales growth in the second half.”

By category, snack sales sank 21% year over year to $89.7 million in the second quarter and, excluding last year’s divestitures of ParmCrisps and Thinsters, were down 13% on an organic basis. Sales also declined by 2% to $177.7 million for meal prep (down 4% organically), by 4% to $69.8 million for beverages (down 3% organically) and by 47% to $12.8 million for personal care (down 38% organically). Baby and kids sales were flat at $61.6 million but dipped 1% organically.

“Snacks were affected by a shift in our promotional activity on the Garden Veggie brand and by key retailer shelving changes for Garden Veggie and Terra,” Davidson said. “Garden Veggie remains a strong brand with high brand awareness and one of the highest levels of household penetration among better-for-you snacks. The shift of our promotional activity from the first half of the year to the second half impacted absolute sales volumes in both time periods and had a carry-on effect in overall velocity. As a result, we have adjusted our in-store activation and shopper marketing for the second half of the year.

“Despite these impacts, Garden Veggie delivered mid-single-digit distribution growth in the quarter and continues to be a top-velocity snack brand in convenience stores. We continue to expand in this important channel and have confirmed distribution expansion up 17% year on year in the back half of the year. Terra saw strong base unit velocities, up 9%.”

Hain expects accelerated snacks performance in the second half from expanded distribution, including a 5% uptick in snack distribution at its largest retail partner, Davidson said.

“We will also have new innovation, including exciting flavors in Garden Veggie Flavor Burst, which was recently named the top new product in the tortilla category by Newsweek,” she said. “Beginning in this quarter, we have better placement in-aisle with key customer resets as well as increased merchandising and promotional activity across top customers.”

For the fiscal 2025 first half, Hain’s net sales declined 8% to $806.1 million and were down 6% on an organic basis versus the prior-year period. The loss was $123.6 million, compared with a $23.9 million loss a year earlier.

“We remain confident in the building blocks we have in place to deliver top-line growth in the back half,” Davidson said. “However, due to the softer-than-expected front half and a more volatile macro environment, we feel it is prudent to approach our guidance with a more cautious outlook for the full year.”