J.M. Smucker misses quarterly profit estimates as high coffee prices weigh

(Reuters) -Folgers coffee maker J.M. Smucker (SJM) missed Wall Street estimates for first-quarter profit on Wednesday, hurt by a rise in commodity costs as U.S. tariffs weighed.

Higher inflation has prompted packaged food companies such as J.M. Smucker and Conagra Brands to raise product prices in a bid to offset elevated input costs, which have worsened due to tariff-led expenses since the start of the year.

The rise in prices has led to weaker product demand for J.M. Smucker, whose shares fell about 7% following the results.

The company, which imports green coffee majorly from Brazil and Vietnam, had warned in June that the commodity's heavy exposure to tariffs would hurt its profitability.

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The Jif peanut butter maker buys about 500 million pounds of green coffee each year and could face the brunt of 50% tariffs on Brazilian imports, which were raised in July from a prior level of 10%.

J.M. Smucker's cost of products sold in the three months ended July 31 rose 23% to $1.64 billion, leading a quarterly loss of $43.9 million on a GAAP basis.

The company posted adjusted profit of $1.90 per share for the first quarter, missing analysts' average estimate of $1.93 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG. It had reported a profit of $185 million a year ago.

However, J.M. Smucker raised its annual net sales growth forecast to a range of 3% to 5%, up from a prior view of 2% to 4%.

(Reporting by Anshi Sancheti in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas)

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