By Ben Glickman

WK Kellogg swung to a surprise loss in the third quarter as restructuring costs from modernizing the company's supply chain weighed on earnings.

The Battle Creek, Mich.-based cereal maker reported a loss of $11 million, or 13 cents a share, in the quarter ended Sept. 28, compared with a profit of $42 million, or 49 cents a share, a year earlier. Analysts polled by FactSet expected a per-share profit 23 cents.

Revenue fell 0.4% from a year ago to $689 million, beating the $674.1 million expected by analysts. After adjusting for acquisitions and divestitures, sales rose 0.7%.

WK Kellogg said that price and product mix boosted sales by about 1.8%, but volumes fell 1.1%.

The company has been working to modernize its supply chain, which it has said will require nearly $400 million in capital. Those efforts are expected to expand the company's margins, but in the third quarter related restructuring costs weighed on the bottom line.

WK Kellogg backed its 2024 adjusted net sales guidance of a drop of 1% to an increase of 1%. The company also now expects adjusted Ebitda, or earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, to be up 5% to 6%, an increase from prior outlook for a 3% to 5% increase.

Write to Ben Glickman at ben.glickman@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 07, 2024 08:24 ET (13:24 GMT)

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