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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.
Adjusted EBITDA in the key US 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 US 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. 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 US packaged food industry.
The Kraft Heinz portfolio of traditional brands includes Oscar Mayer, Maxwell House and Capri Sun.