ST. LOUIS — Ralcorp Holdings, Inc. on Nov. 4 said it is postponing the release of its fourth-quarter and full-fiscal year 2011 earnings pending the completion of a goodwill impairment analysis of its Post cereals business. The company, which was supposed to announce results on Nov. 8, now expects to release them by Nov. 29.

“The anticipated goodwill impairment charge would represent a non-cash accounting adjustment to the company’s financial statements, which will not affect adjusted diluted earnings per share, cash flows or liquidity,” Ralcorp said. “Excluding the anticipated accounting charge and certain other unusual, infrequent or non-recurring items, the company estimates adjusted diluted earnings per share of $5.21 to $5.27 for the full fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2011.”

Ralcorp did note that its private brand businesses performed well overall during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011.

As of June 30, Ralcorp had goodwill totaling approximately $1.8 billion related to the acquisition of the Post cereals business in fiscal 2008. The United States requires companies to perform an annual test for goodwill impairment, and as a result of a preliminary review of the Post cereals business by the recently appointed Post management team, the company initiated a goodwill impairment test as of Sept. 30 indicating that the goodwill related to the Post acquisition was likely impaired. The completion of the analysis will determine the amount of the impairment to be recognized, Ralcorp said.