Kraft Heinz Shares Sink as Higher Costs Weigh Down Results

(Bloomberg) -- Kraft Heinz Co. shares sank in late trading on Thursday after the packaged-food company posted quarterly profit that missed estimates, dragged down by sluggish sales growth and higher costs.

• Earnings per share were 78 cents in the quarter, excluding some items, trailing the average analysts’ estimate of 81 cents.

Key Insights

• Adjusted EBITDA in the key U.S. region was down 16 percent as Kraft faced higher overhead costs and increased spending on logistics. Known as aggressive cost-cutters, the management has been able to boost profit despite sluggish sales. But it has run into trouble amid a trucker shortage in the U.S. that has driven up freight costs.
• The company has completed the expense reductions it targeted when it was created in 2015, raising pressure to make a deal. Investors have been hungry for an acquisition since Kraft’s bid for Unilever was rejected in 2017. Kraft’s stock has dipped more than 40 percent since that deal collapsed.
• Changing consumer tastes have been hard on the company and its competitors in the U.S. packaged food industry. The Kraft Heinz portfolio of traditional brands includes Oscar Mayer, Maxwell House and Capri Sun.

Market Reaction

• The shares fell as much as 9.2 percent in late trading to $51.03. The stock had dropped 28 percent this year through Thursday’s close, underperforming consumer peers.

More Details

• For more on the results, click here.

To contact the reporter on this story: Craig Giammona in New York at cgiammona@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anne Riley Moffat at ariley17@bloomberg.net, Lisa Wolfson, Cecile Daurat

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.