Kraft Heinz beats estimates on sustained demand for snacks, packaged meals

[August 04, 2021]  (Reuters) -Kraft Heinz Co beat market estimates for quarterly net sales and profit on Wednesday, as demand for snacks and packaged meals remained strong even as people started venturing out following the easing of coronavirus restrictions.

A Heinz Ketchup bottle sits between a box of Kraft macaroni and cheese and a bottle of Kraft Original Barbecue Sauce on a grocery store shelf in New York March 25, 2015. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Packaged food makers were among the major beneficiaries of the pandemic-induced curbs in 2020 that forced people to cook more at home.

Analysts anticipate the sales boost to last as remote working trends stay largely in place, though growth is likely to slow from the unprecedented levels seen during the height of the pandemic.

Chicago-based Kraft forecast current-quarter organic sales to decline by low-single-digit percentage compared with last year when sales surged on panic buying amid pandemic restrictions.

However, it expects organic sales to grow by mid-single-digit percentage, compared with pre-pandemic levels two years ago. Kraft also said it expects its core earnings for 2021 to be above pre-pandemic levels.

In the second quarter ended June 26, net sales fell marginally from a year earlier to $6.62 billion, beating estimates of $6.55 billion.

Excluding items, Kraft earned 78 cents per share, above estimates of 72 cents, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

(Reporting by Mehr Bedi and Praveen Paramasivam in Bengaluru; editing by Vinay Dwivedi)

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