Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (LW) surged 5.39% in pre-market trading on Friday, as investors cheered the company's fiscal fourth-quarter results that handily beat analyst expectations.
The frozen potato products maker reported adjusted EBITDA of $288 million, well above the IBES estimate of $251 million, while adjusted net income came in at $120 million, exceeding the forecast of $85.2 million. Earnings per share for the quarter stood at $0.79. The strong performance was driven by robust demand and pricing actions, despite disruptions in the Middle East and input cost inflation that affected its EMEA business.
Management also highlighted actions being taken to mitigate volatility from the Middle East conflict, which added to the positive sentiment. The company additionally declared a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share, but the primary catalyst for the pre-market rally was the significant earnings beat.