US meats and bakery company Hillshire Brands has raised its guidance for annual earnings despite booking a drop in first-half profits.

Earnings in the six months ended 29 December dropped 53.2% to US$118m, hurt by the loss of discontinued operations. Operating income, however, the company reported today (31 January), was up 44.2% to $228m.

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Net sales in the period amounted to $1.06bn, a 0.7% increase on the prior-year period. Hillshire said its business responded well to increased marketing, advertising and promotional investment during the six months and has also benefited from deflationary input costs.

The company updated its fiscal 2013 guidance for adjusted diluted EPS to $1.60-$1.70, with “slightly positive” sales growth for the year.

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