Shares of Tupperware Brands Corp. /zigman2/quotes/209009040/composite TUP -2.63% rocketed 60.6% toward a three-month high in morning trading Wednesday, enough to pace all NYSE gainers, after the food storage containers maker reported a sharp drop in second-quarter profit, but beat expectations by a wide margin, as raised prices and improved service helped offset inflation and supply chain challenges. Net income fell to $1.2 million, or 2 cents a share, from $35.6 million, or 67 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share fell to 41 cents from 90 cents, but was well above the FactSet consensus of 22 cents. Sales dropped 18.3% to $340.4 million, but was above the FactSet consensus of $321.4 million. The sales decline was due primarily to lower overall sales force activity, lockdowns in China and lower consumer sentiment in Europe, partially offset by strength in South America. Gross margin contracted to 64.9% from 68.4%, due to lower volumes, higher resin and logistics costs and country and product mix, partially offset by higher pricing. The stock has still plunged 35.5% over the past three months through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 /zigman2/quotes/210599714/realtime SPX +0.80% has slipped 1.3%.
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