Hormel Food Corp. reported earnings and sales gains in the second quarter of 2018 and reaffirmed its guidance for the year.

Diluted earnings per share for Austin, Minnesota-based Hormel totaled $.44 in the quarter, up 13 percent from the same time the year before. Net sales were $2.3 billion, up 7 percent.

Hormel’s deli brands include Hormel, Jennie-O, Applegate, DiLusso, Hormel Gatherings and Columbus Craft Meats.

In addition to the earnings and sales gains, Hormel reaffirmed its 2018 guidance of $1.81 to $1.95 per share.

"Our team delivered record earnings per share of $0.44 which was in line with our expectation and keeps us on track to maintain our full year earnings guidance," says Jim Snee, Hormel’s chairman, president, and CEO. "We were particularly pleased with the bottom-line performance from Refrigerated Foods as our experienced team grew our value-added profits while navigating through volatile markets. Our balanced business model helped mitigate higher freight costs and a difficult commodity environment."