Kraft Heinz Co.’s legendary cost-cutting zeal helped the food giant cope with a punishing grocery industry last quarter.
The company’s belt-tightening efforts, orchestrated by private equity backer 3G Capital, boosted profit above analysts’ estimates. The stronger earnings came despite another decline in sales during the period.
The shares rose 1.1 percent to $87.47 in late trading after the results were released.
Sales Decline
The maker of Velveeta and Oscar Mayer blamed its sales decline on slower demand for cheese, meats and food-service items. The results extended a long slump on that front: Kraft Heinz, formed in a 2015 merger of two food giants, has yet to post a quarter of sales growth since it was created.
Heavy competition in the grocery industry -- coupled with a record-setting bout of food deflation -- has made life difficult for the packaged-food industry. Many consumers also are switching to private-label brands, at the expense of the long-iconic household names that Kraft owns. Its stable of products include Jell-O, Kool-Aid, Lunchables and Maxwell House.
Against that backdrop, Kraft is relying heavily on zero-based budgeting, a belt-tightening tactic that puts every expense under a microscope. The company aims to squeeze $1.7 billion by 2018.
“It’s right on script -- their priority has been cost cuts,” Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Ken Shea said. “And it’s even more important because of the tough environment.”
Earnings Bump
Excluding some items, second-quarter profit amounted to 98 cents a share, fueled by the cost cuts. That topped Wall Street’s 95-cent estimate. Kraft, which has dual headquarters in Pittsburgh and Chicago, also boosted its quarterly dividend by 4.2 percent to 62.5 cents a share.
“Our plan from the start has been to drive strong cost savings,” Chief Executive Officer Bernardo Hees said in a statement. “That’s what we see happening now and expect to continue going forward.”
Sales dropped 1.7 percent to $6.68 billion in the second quarter, missing analysts’ estimates by about $50 million.
Kraft isn’t alone in feeling the pain. The largest food and beverage companies have lost roughly $20 billion in retail sales since 2011, according to Robert Moskow, an analyst at Credit Suisse Group AG.
News by Bloomberg, edited by ESM. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
