Krispy Kreme reports first quarterly profit since going public, fueled by strong holiday sales

Krispy Kreme reports first quarterly profit since going public, fueled by strong holiday sales

On Tuesday reported its first quarterly profit since going public again but fell short of Wall Street's expectations for its earnings. Shares of the doughnut company rose nearly 2% in premarket trading. Since its initial public offering in July, the stock has struggled, falling 33%. Here's what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by Refinitiv: Krispy Kreme reported fourth-quarter net income of $4.3 million, or 1 cent per share. A year ago, its quarterly net income was not meaningful, according to the company's release. Excluding items, the company earned 8 cents per share, missing the 9 cents per share expected by analysts surveyed by Refinitiv. CEO Mike Tattersfield said in an interview that Krispy Kreme, like the broader restaurant industry, is seeing labor and commodity inflation, although it's able to hedge against higher ingredient costs. The cost of sugar, wheat and oil make up about 12% of the company's sales, and he said that In the fourth quarter, Krispy Kreme raised prices twice. Compared with the year-ago period, the company's prices are now up by the high-single digits worldwide, according to Tattersfield. "We still seeing pricing as an opportunity," he