Kraft’s forecast for adjusted 2022 Ebitda was in line with expectations.
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Kraft Heinz stock was headed higher Wednesday after the maker of Heinz ketchup delivered strong earnings.
For the fourth quarter, the consumer-goods company reported adjusted earnings of 79 cents a share from revenue of $6.7 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected 63 cents a share on sales of $6.6 billion. Revenue declined 3.3% from the year-earlier period.
Shares of Kraft (ticker: KHC) were up about 1% to $34.93 in premarket trading, while the S&P 500 was 0.2% lower.
For its fiscal 2022, ending in December, Kraft expects adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization in the range of $5.8 billion to $6.0 billion. The consensus call among analysts was $5.87 billion.
Organic net sales are expected to increase by a percentage in the low single digits in 2022.
Kraft Heinz
like other food companies is dealing with higher costs and is trying to manage supply-chain pressures. In the fourth quarter, pricing was up 3.8 percentage points versus the same period prior year, driven by inflation, it said.
“We are generating efficiencies to fuel incremental investments in our business, which, along with successful pricing, are mitigating inflationary pressures,” said CEO Miguel Patricio.
Late last month, Kraft Heinz told its wholesale customers that it was raising prices of household favorites such as Maxwell House coffee, Kool-Aid, Capri Sun drinks, and others, according to a letter viewed by CNN. The increase ranged from 6.6% to 30% on a list of products.
The meat packer Tyson Foods, on an average, increased prices by 13% across all its segments. General Mills also said it is raising prices in its latest earnings call in December.
For Kraft, the inflation challenge comes amid a leadership shake-up. Late last month, CFO Paulo Basilio, announced he will step down effective March 1 after serving for about seven years. He’ll be succeeded by Andre Maciel, who joined Kraft in 2013. Earlier this month, the packaged foods company also announced changes to its board of directors.
Write to Karishma Vanjani at [email protected]
