Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, December 20, 1994 TAG: 9412200089
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Newsday
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
In a prepared statement, Ben & Jerry's president, Chuck Lacy, said the company would have a fourth-quarter loss of $700,000 to $900,000 on revenues of $30 million to $31 million. The company said it would show a profit for the year, though it would be a decline from last year's profit of $7.2 million. The company had sales of $140 million in 1993.
Lacy's statement said that ``the anticipated loss in the current quarter is due primarily to lower than expected sales levels. Through mid-December total fourth-quarter pint volume is down from the fourth quarter of 1993 by 5 percent.''
The offbeat Waterbury, Vt.-based company with its 1960s style has given the country ice cream flavors such as Cherry Garcia and Chunky Monkey. Ben & Jerry's has about 42 percent of the super premium ice cream category.
Rob Michalak, a company spokesman, said Ben & Jerry's would have to pay more attention to consumer demand for additional products and new flavors. But he said the company did not intend to drop from the super premium category to premium, where the heavy competition has been. The company plans to introduce a no-fat yogurt next year.
The loss comes as the company is experiencing a delay in the opening of its new plant in St. Albans, Vt., because of computer software problems. The ice cream maker also is nearing the end of a search for a new chief executive to replace Ben Cohen, who co-founded the company.
``We're down to the short list. We're moving that process along and have got some excellent candidates,'' Michalak said. ``The goal is to have someone on board in the first quarter.''
Hiring a new CEO ``hopefully will create some momentum for change there and renewed product innovation,'' said analyst Matthew Patsky with Robertson Stephens & Co. in San Francisco.
by CNB