morning, and good everyone. Thanks, Tom,
targets. earnings half raise strong provided pleased Tom performance As through us our the operating the and financial a of our first momentum to said, foundation sales year, which annual and has we're with with
increase impact to mix. Let that quarter The year. results increase That's XX% our as updated of benefits benefit well actions that XXXX as mix me and during reflects the the we Sales efforts product improve in in reflects review sales carryover XX% actions our in The from of drove across second each actions discussing A initiated business nearly fiscal our $X.XX our fiscal before also portfolio pricing to record product great pricing growth pricing segments. implementing a we quarter this second increase we our to as began price billion. outlook. from continued for us. grew
fulfillment supply that continued chain constraints Retail to described. This Tom volumes volumes service primarily the order and Sales related segments. and our declined levels X%, in we affected shortfalls Foodservice and as in experience
as quarter some extent, and and of lesser as well full-service were replacing also segments. casual the restaurant business in in softer by the timing of our traffic a Foodservice dining losses To Retail low-margin volumes impacted
of increased in as profit margin million, sales result $XXX to growth performance. million gross quarter and our Gross strong $XXX the a
the the inflation to pricing couple the versus our customer value points and our to cumulative and margin business caught to have expanded created segments, effect and past from in transportation programs prior basis improve Broadly nearly years. productivity cost actions and XXX efforts quarter basis XX%. sequentially of mix, speaking, input product Our XXX over up year each of points about of
was driver the cost in that Potato was were challenging. transportation. largely double-digit last pound labor crop up batter per inflation, to to harvested in prices of due and increase and cost however, of continues as costs Input poor the higher ingredients manufacturing also coatings, be the consequence distribution our fall. edible for again, historically a a quarter, oils, Once it for primary
this last for impact due to XXXX yields potato result While quarter the second need from continue the of in poor significant financial prices we crop. expect the this half purchases market and of increase from open the we will a to realize contract crop, that the XXXX is to as our higher year costs the
associated onboarding members ingredients and production incur key costs to of shortages and parts, continue also challenges. team We supply spare other industry-wide higher hired with operational and chain inefficiencies newly
easing, slowly continue to of expect the been the have constraints remainder these from we they impacts headwind through the While year. be a will
Moving sales. from on of cost
Our $XXX system. SG&A, excluding new higher items due to due performance designing improved expenses to impacting and higher building including ERP and million, comparability, largely improving million IT operating relating our to and benefit $XX infrastructure, increased expenses a compensation to
method well million, $XX impacting associated from unconsolidated the up excluding energy consumer with and year. increased mark-to-market continued drove This earnings commodity solid and the results increase. hedging especially second ventures inflation to adjustments of of relatively despite Europe, Higher joint items in costs. currency to Equity pricing, our up the comparability and Demand Weston/Meijer contracts. volatile in sets significant the deliver impact half Lamb hold
a in our XX% behind were Moving Sales our segment up Global segments. price/mix. quarter in XX% increase in to the
the of most earlier, and structures. driven pricing price updated noted Tom was escalators increase by As
contribution With price/mix, quarter. more to than margin Global's product the the million doubled in increase $XXX in
In pre-pandemic which our addition, for milestone key performance. Global's levels, is approached product contribution overall margin percentage a
would as a counter realize price/mix terms restore it by While continue this benefit we than inflation. in that our to XXXX Global's margins, would XX% segments grew we year we to actions as as well of that segment carryover knew actions the the XX%, customer of were in driven contracts. take to throughout increase structure Foodservice pricing always and due channels' other confident fiscal the we we Sales announced earlier longer in taken
constraints extent full-service production softer reflecting restaurants. primarily a traffic XX%, in and decreased to and casual dining lesser volumes Sales
because lower-margin on we've customer service, had which these In of of tough addition, some production to make has constraints, resulted some in business. choices loss the
pound margin cost and product the XX% from Foodservice's of manufacturing per volumes. pricing impact increased the than higher more benefits as contribution distribution lower offset and actions
label more result the increased XX% a pricing our contribution and is product Retail of price/mix, with contribution margin largely certain increase in XX% and our execution pricing of label of than Its channels. lower-margin reflecting private the constraints. our away-from-home reflects of private production margin mix Through products. actions segment in fell in tripled to production team's behind X%, management, incremental a across Sales Volume line losses million. a It branded portfolios. now percentage Retail's also strong combination as $XX
position liquidity cash flow. Moving to our and
and remains sheet the million ratio. solid leverage undrawn revolver. cash balance of Our quarter with with ended We about a billion strong and liquidity $XXX low $X
about our was down debt times earnings X.X leverage net $X.X reflecting billion, in Our end resulting times at from ratio. a XXXX, X.X fiscal of the recovery. That's
year, million due earnings. In cash the about year, the million $XXX operations more higher of half the to or generated we than last first the half first from of about of largely $XX
and were is we related expenditures from million, $XXX Argentina. to year. This processing of is construction China last the as continue first $XXX up in costs increase which about Capital million expand half Idaho, about capacity largely to
million expenditures generally first half sales. we $XX million million cash in and returned than maintenance annual repurchases. of year, to $XXX $XX our nearly to to $XXX the about shareholders, reminder, the a target $XXX X% X% about million share have of typically million we been more in as including In As of capital dividends
have of and our sustainable, ability confidence long-term. weeks XX% a approved you in dividend, our the to drive and results may board execution profitable of increase seen directors our growth quarterly strategy a ago, reflecting strong the successful in over deliver As to our our financial cash flow few
transaction transaction that outlook. financial be So during not fourth We now as closed. to let's do updated turn updated our has Please the not believe of completed fiscal quarter. the targets will Lamb the Weston/Meijer XXXX yet fiscal note that consolidation reflect our
previous target for sales So a $X.X of $X.X billion implies billion our to increased target XX% billion, which rate of $X.X we've the to XX.X%. to our year, up $X.X to growth That's billion. from
year. We sales higher of driver primary second will expect growth that in the price/mix be the of half the
potential environment. difficult chain to we a of surrounding volumes and Forecasting restaurant by volatility anticipate affected half inflation fiscal remains be continue consumers second in as as through a will macroeconomic the because face in shipments traffic demand and and constraints supply XXXX weaker slowdown
to targeting $X.XX million. of we're $X.XX. estimate up from of our earnings ventures adjusted EBITDA, to million. share $XXX $X.X target earnings, our of $XXX adjusted That's to to our income from previous finally, to target of million. joint including to million Adjusted For previous billion, $X, up of diluted $XXX $X.XX $X.XX of previous And billion net per $XXX $XXX unconsolidated from up million $XXX million
posted the gross in and be driven during margin line XX% the increase earnings up our be in XX% the of and continue fiscal the that expect year by the primarily is of delivered between We we XX%, than to which that we margins second will sales gross growth more expansion. half half from to XXXX. first in targeting half during We're XX% back and with the the
previous for than We expect in cadence gross pronounced be seasonal, the sequential less quarterly will years. margins
or a step much down from we to QX to margin Specifically, for gross QX step-up few the foresee much of reasons. QX in do QX the not seasonal typical from of typical
in the raw costs we to the reflect XX% quarter, increase our potato harvested third potato the contracted in beginning recently crop. price increase expect approximately to the of First,
In as market addition, we higher result high-cost expect a significant purchases. potato of open costs
ingredients Second, the continued inflation and year, significant inputs other especially second oils we edible the expect coatings. for batter for of for half during key
and QX XXXX. from contracts to expect And global the Foodservice will up as taken in a the begin the QX in price in more acceleration decelerate expect years. lap segments muted pricing in finally, increases pricing we Third, coming fiscal actions of Retail we year-over-year for to actions we renewal step-up due to our for
$XXX and increased expect SG&A, as our of ERP target, comparability compensation largely performance million. expenses, improved support impacting operating up including to previous due million That's upgrades. services, including $XXX higher to our expenses, outside well respect of With to due to benefit from compensation IT for expenses excluding items we expense as incentive and
and expense, rate expenditures, effective amortization unchanged. capital including estimates other Our financial interest depreciation and our targets, expenses are of tax
that, over it And let turn some Tom now for back me closing to comments. with
