US food giant H J Heinz has posted lower quarterly net income, reflecting the divestments it has made since the year-ago quarter.
The company reported net income of US$191.5m, or 54 cents a share, for the second quarter to 29 October, compared with $212.1m, or 60 cents a share, a year earlier.
Heinz said the year-earlier result included earnings from now-discontinued operations that were spun off and merged with Del Monte in December 2002. On a continuing operations basis, net income in the year-ago period was $168.5m, or 48 cents a share.
Second-quarter sales excluding divestitures, net of acquisitions, increased 7.7%, reflecting volume growth of 1.6% and favourable foreign exchange translation rates of 6.0%. Divestitures, net of acquisitions, had a negative impact on sales of 8.1%, causing overall sales for the quarter to slide 0.4% to $2.09bn, the company said.
“We are pleased with Heinz’s results for the second quarter… We saw continued volume, margin and operating income growth in the second quarter, reflecting the improved focus of our international portfolio and strong performances by Heinz Ketchup and our leading sauces brands, our U.S. Foodservice, European seafood and rapidly growing Asia Pacific businesses,” said president and CEO William R. Johnson.

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