Snack maker Snyder's-Lance (LNCE) swaps CEOs, warns of weakness

Snyder’s-Lance Inc. said Monday that Chief Executive Carl Lee Jr. has retired after 12 years at the company, and the maker of Kettle Brand and Cape Cod chips braced investors for weakness going forward.

** charts before  announcement **

  

** chart after announcement **

Snyder's-Lance sees Q1 results lower than consensus; lowers FY17 outlook; CEO retires; Brian Driscoll to step in as interim CEO :

Co announces CEO Transition and provides preliminary Q1 results, as well as updating FY17 guidance

• Q1
  • Co issues downside guidance for Q1 (Mar), sees EPS of 0.13-0.14, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.27 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate
  • Co sees Q1 (Mar) revs of $530-532 vs. $551.13 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
• FY17
  • Co issues downside guidance for FY17 (Dec), sees EPS of $1.05-1.20, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $1.38 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate, and down from prior guidance of $1.24-1.30
  • Co sees FY17 (Dec) revs of $2.2-2.25 bln vs. $2.27 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate, and down from prior guidance of $2.29-2.31 bln

CEO Transition

• Co also announced that its President and CEO, Carl Lee, Jr, has retired.
• Brian Driscoll, former President and CEO of Diamond Foods and a current Director of Snyder's-Lance, has agreed to step in as interim CEO.
• The Company has announced that it will launch a national search for a permanent replacement to Lee.
• Driscoll is considered a strong candidate for that role, and will have full faith and confidence of the Board to develop and execute the Company's strategies until a permanent decision is made.