US food company HJ Heinz has reported a sharp drop in quarterly earnings, hit by higher costs and special items.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
The company, famous for its Heinz Ketchup, posted earnings of US$102.6m, or 29 cents a share, for the fiscal fourth quarter to 30 April, after special items that reduced earnings by $82.2m. In the year-ago period, Heinz posted earnings of $223.5m, or 63 cents per share.
Excluding special items, such as costs related to the spin-off of some underperforming brands in December, Heinz reported profit from continuing operations of 52 cents a share, unchanged from the year-ago value. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call had been expecting on average 53 cents a share, reported Reuters.
Fourth-quarter sales from continuing operations were up 6% to $2.19bn, helped by strong international results.
Heinz said increased prices in North America offset lower volume in some US frozen food brands.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataThe company said it has targeted earnings of between $2.15 and $2.25 a share for fiscal 2004 and net sales growth of 3-4% excluding divested businesses.
