McCormick & Co. Inc. MKC, -0.31% reported Tuesday fiscal first-quarter profit and sales that topped expectations, as higher at-home consumption compared with pre-pandemic levels helped offset higher inflation and supply-chain challenges. The spices and seasoning mixes company’s stock was still inactive in premarket trading. Net income for the quarter to Feb. 28 fell to $154.9 million, or 57 cents a share, from $161.8 million, or 60 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share fell to 63 cents from 72 cents, but topped the FactSet consensus of 62 cents. Sales grew 2.8% to $1.52 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $1.47 billion. Growth of cost of goods sold outpaced sales growth, rising 6.4% to $962.0 million as gross margin fell to 36.8% from 39.0%. The company reiterated its fiscal 2022 adjusted EPS guidance range of $3.17 to $3.22, which surrounds expectations of $3.18. The stock has gained 1.1% year to date, while the S&P 500 SPX, +0.71% has slipped 4.0%.
