US-based food giant ConAgra Foods has said that it expects to complete the sale of its private-label operations in the first quarter of 2016.
The proceeds generated by the sale to TreeHouse Foods will total approximately $2.7 billion, which the company will use 'primarily for debt reduction', according to a statement.
ConAgra Foods made the announcement in its interim results for the second quarter of the year to 29 November, in which it posted a 2.9-per-cent year-on-year sales decline in its consumer-foods business, to $1.983 billion.
The group's total sales for the quarter stood at $3.092 billion, a 1.4-per-cent decline on the same period last year.
“Our team has been very productive in the first half of the fiscal year, with the divestiture of the private-label operations, the roll-out of our cost-reduction programme, the relocation of our headquarters to Chicago, and the announcement of the plan to split into two companies," said Sean Connolly, CEO and president, ConAgra Foods.
"The bold moves we’re making are positioning us well to deliver long-term shareholder value."
© 2015 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here
