Hormel Foods' (HRL) fourth-quarter earnings remained flat on an annual basis as sales decreased, while the food maker said its planning to deliver "quality earnings growth" in the ongoing fiscal year.

The owner of the Planters snack nuts brand posted per-share earnings of $0.42 for the quarter ended Oct. 27, unchanged from the year before and meeting the FactSet-polled consensus. Sales declined to $3.14 billion from almost $3.2 billion, versus analysts' $3.15 billion view.

Revenue for retail products moved down 3.8% to $1.91 billion, driven by declines in value-added meats, snacking and entertaining and convenient meals and proteins. Foodservice sales rose 1.3% to $1.05 billion, boosted by "strong performance" across the premium prepared proteins, salty snacks, turkey, bacon and pizza toppings categories, according to the company.

International revenue ticked up 1.4% to nearly $185 million due to demand in China and robust exports for the Spam luncheon meat and Skippy peanut butter brands. Volume dropped by 9.5% and 5.5% in the international and retail segments, while gaining 1.7% in foodservice, Hormel said.

"The combination of underlying business strength and the capture of $75 million in operating income benefit from our transform and modernize initiative helped to offset a dynamic consumer environment, the steep decline in whole bird turkey commodity markets and the production disruption at our Suffolk, Virginia facility," Chief Executive Jim Snee said in a statement.

For fiscal 2025, Hormel anticipates adjusted EPS in a range of $1.58 to $1.72 on sales of $11.9 billion to $12.2 billion. Analysts are looking for non-GAAP EPS of $1.68 and revenue of $12.16 billion. In the just-ended fiscal year, adjusted earnings came in at $1.58 per share while sales dipped 1.6% to $11.92 billion.

"As we enter fiscal 2025, we are in a strong position to deliver quality earnings growth, further expand our market presence, and accelerate the impact of our (transform and modernize) initiative," according to Snee. "We expect each of our three segments to deliver top line growth as we continue to lead on-trend categories, increase brand investments, and drive innovation in the marketplace."

Hormel expects to realize $100 million to $150 million in incremental benefits from its transformation plan in the ongoing fiscal year. The program is aimed at transforming its supply chain, minimizing portfolio complexity and investing in data and technology.