HOBOKEN, NJ. – The Hain Celestial Group, Inc.’s latest strategy iteration is gaining momentum, according to the company. Efforts aimed at streamlining operations and improving efficiencies are developing faster than expected and mean the company is going to invest in portfolio management and brand building earlier than expected. The accelerated timeline has management tempering financial expectations for the second half of fiscal 2024, but optimistic about generating improved results earlier than originally planned.

The updated strategy, called “Hain reimagined,” consists of four components, including a focus on specific global product platforms like snacks, beverages, meal prep and children’s food; growth in three of those platforms — snacks, children’s food and beverages; build, which includes brand building, channel expansion and innovation; and fuel, which is focused on growth management and efficiency.

“We are making early progress against Hain reimagined, especially in the delivery of fuel as planned in this foundational year of the restructuring program,” said Lee Boyce, chief financial officer, during a Feb. 7 conference call to discuss second-quarter results. “We have accelerated some of the initiatives outlined in the focus pillar, primarily, portfolio and channel mix improvements.

“This is expected to create a near-term revenue headwind as we rationalize lower margin SKUs (stock-keeping units) in sales. As a result, we believe it is prudent to take a more conservative view of the balance of fiscal 2024.”

As a result, Hain Celestial is lowering its fiscal 2024 organic net sales guidance to approximately 1% growth as compared to the originally announced 2% to 4% growth range. Adjusted EBITDA now is expected to be in a range of $155 million to $160 million, narrowed from an original range of $155 million to $165 million.

Wendy P. Davidson, president and chief executive officer, pointed to changes Hain Celestial made to the company’s Joya brand in Europe to illustrate how it may approach other brands in its portfolio.

“… we eliminated 50% of the SKUs in the Joya portfolio and the brand grew double digits,” she said. “… We're taking a similar approach across the entire portfolio where we have a tail of SKUs that are adding complexity into our supply chain. Because we overdelivered EBITDA in quarter one and quarter two, it puts us in a position to both invest behind some of the brand building that we wanted to do.”

For the first six months of fiscal 2024, ended Dec. 31, Hain Celestial recorded a loss of $23.9 million, down from the year before when the company earned $17.9 million, equal to 20¢ per share on the common stock.

First-half sales fell to $879.1 million from $893.6 million the year before.

The company had a loss of $13.5 million during the second quarter, down from $11 million, or 12¢ per share, the year before.

Items affecting profitability during the first six months of the fiscal year and the second quarter included lower volume, inflation and marketing investments, according to the company.

Quarterly sales ticked down slightly to $454.1 million from $454.2 million.

In Hain Celestial’s North America business unit, sales fell 5.2% during the quarter to $267.7 million. Items contributing to the lower sales included ongoing challenges in the baby formula supply chain and a change in the promotional strategy of some snack brands. Segment gross profit decreased 12.9% to $62 million from $71 million the year before.