Shares of McCormick & Co. Inc. MKC, -1.20% were indicated down less than 1% in premarket trading Thursday, after the spices and seasonings mix company reported fiscal third-quarter profit that fell short of expectations, amid continued supply chain challenges and as recovery of certain constrained materials took longer than anticipated. Net income rose to $222.9 million, or 82 cents a share, from $212.4 million, or 79 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, such as gain from the sale of the Kitchen Basics business and special charges and transaction expenses, adjusted earnings per share fell to 69 cents from 80 cents, missing the FactSet consensus of 70 cents. Sales grew 3.0% to $1.60 billion, matching the FactSet consensus, while unfavorable currency translation reduced revenue growth by 3.1 percentage points. Cost of sales increased more than sales, rising 8.3% to $1.03 billion, to knock gross margin down to 35.5% from 38.7%. The company affirmed its 2022 outlook for sales and adjusted EPS. The stock has dropped 12.1% over the past three months through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 SPX, -1.02% has eased 1.6%.
