Food giant Kraft Heinz cooks up net sales of $6.1bn in first set of results after merging in July
Food giant Kraft Heinz has revealed net sales of $6.1bn (£4bn) for its third quarter of 2015, up 136 per cent from $2.6bn for the same period last year.
The company, known for kitchen staples like Heinz Tomato Ketchup, Philadelphia cream cheese and Maxwell House coffee, also reported a net loss of $303m after a preferred dividend payment, a move further into the red compared to last year’s net loss after preferred dividend of $8m.
However, this quarter is the first set of results since the companies merged on 2 July, and pro forma net sales, which is not the same as sales under generally accepted accounting principles but represents how the companies would have performed if they had been combined for both periods, for the company actually fell nine per cent from $7.0bn to $6.4bn.
The company blamed currency changes as a key reason behind the pro forma net sales figure.
“Our third quarter results reflect continued progress as we integrate these two great companies while driving greater accountability, discipline and efficiency,” said Bernardo Hees, chief executive officer of Kraft Heinz. “As we implement and expand methodologies such as Zero Based Budgeting, Management by Objectives and revenue management, we expect to continue creating the freedom to invest in our business and accelerating long-term profitable sales growth.”
Sales in the United States took a tumble, with pro forma net sales for the region falling 3.7 per cent to $4.5bn for this quarter, compared to $4.7bn last year.
Share price dropped in after hours trading, reaching an after hours low of $73.33, a 2.8 per cent drop from a closing price of $75.42.
The results come just one day after Kraft Heinz announced it was closing seven factories in North America, cutting roughly 2,600 jobs.