On a GAAP basis, EPS totaled $0.85, which includes $0.07 in one-time benefits.
Operating income rose nearly 12% to $900 million, including one-time benefits of $96 million. The company said that operating would have been flat except for these benefits.
Kraft faces rising commodity prices and increased pricing pressure from private-label brands at many of the grocery stores that have been its mainstays for years. The competition, while nothing especially new, is tougher because consumers looking to save money often choose the private label brand. Higher input prices for everything from cheese to coffee to peanuts puts a lot of pressure on margins.
Kraft did not provide guidance in its news release, but consensus estimates for the second quarter call for EPS of $0.87 on revenues of $4.88 billion and for the full year EPS is estimated at $3.17 on revenues of $18.58 billion.
The company’s CEO said:
We continued to make steady progress during the first quarter of this year. … [W]e’re confident that our focus on brand renovation, marketing excellence and total cost management will drive the profitable growth that both we and our shareholders expect.
Shares closed at $56.69 and ticked down a penny in after-hours trading to $56.68, in a 52-week range of $50.04 to $58.76. Thomson Reuters had a consensus analyst price target of around $58.70 before this report.
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