Whole Earth Brands plunges after Q4 surprise loss

Whole Earth Brands

14/03/2022 14:33

** Shares of sweetener maker  FREE.O  fall as much as 19% to
a more than 1-1/2 year low of $7.07 after co posts surprise loss
in Q4
    ** Stock last down ~13%, on course for worst day ever, if
losses hold
    ** Co reports Q4 loss per share of 1 cent, compared with
analysts' average estimate of a profit of 20 cents per share,
per Refinitiv IBES data  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nASA034A7
    ** FREE says Q4 consolidated product revenue rose 75.3% to
$132.7 mln, expects 2022 net product revenue between $530 mln
and $545 mln  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nGNX5bnVBf
    ** CEO Albert Manzone says Q4 was impacted by inflationary
pressures and supply chain disruptions
    ** "We expect this to continue for first quarter of '22 as
well until our pricing actions are implemented" - Manzone 
    ** Stock down ~29% so far this year, including session
losses 

 (Reporting by Ananya Mariam Rajesh in Bengaluru)
 ((AnanyaMariam.Rajesh@thomsonreuters.com;))