=Kraft Heinz (KHC) reported earnings on Fri 16 Feb 2018 (b/o)

Kraft Heinz misses by $0.05, reports revs in-line 

• Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.90 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.05 worse thanthe Capital IQ Consensus of $0.95; revenues rose 0.3% year/year to $6.88 bln vs the $6.91 bln Capital IQ Consensus, including a 0.9 percentage point benefit from currency.
• Organic Net Sales decreased 0.6 percent versus the year-ago period. Pricing increased 1.0 percentage points, driven by price increases in Rest of World markets and the United States. Volume/mix decreased 1.6 percentage points, primarily due to lower shipments across several categories, particularly nuts, natural cheese and cold cuts in the United States as well as cheese and coffee in Canada. This was partially offset by ongoing growth in macaroni and cheese in the United States as well as strong growth from condiments and sauces in Europe, China and Indonesia. Adjusted EBITDA increased 4.0% to $2.0 billion, including a favorable 0.8 percentage point impact from currency. Excluding the impact of currency, Adjusted EBITDA increased primarily due to gains from cost savings initiatives, lower overhead costs and favorable pricing, which was partially offset by higher input costs and lower volume/mix.
• "There's no question that our financial performance in 2017 did not reflect our progress or potential," said Kraft Heinz CEO Bernardo Hees. "We made significant improvements in many of our businesses, and were able to accelerate some important business investments at the end of the year. This, together with benefits from the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and additional investments in our capabilities, should help further advantage our brands and grow our business in 2018 and beyond."
  "Since the HR-1 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was signed into law, we have already taken actions and are accelerating key business initiatives," said Kraft Heinz CFO David Knopf. "This includes approximately $300 million in strategic investments to build our capabilities, our people skills and our brands; more than $800 million in capital expenditures to improve quality, safety and capacity; as well as $1.3 billion to pre-fund our post-retirement benefit plans."