By Maria Armental
Packaged foods giant H.J. Heinz Co., which is merging with Kraft
Foods Group Inc., reported a 12% drop in revenue in the first
quarter hurt by foreign currency exchange rates and inventory
buildup in the year-ago period.
Heinz, owned by Brazilian private-equity firm 3G Capital
Partners LP's, shipped safety stock to retailers ahead of the
launch of its data-analytic push in North America in the second
quarter of 2014.
The company, which didn't offer a breakdown of sales figures,
highlighted a double-digit increase of its soy sauce in China along
with a single-digit increase in organic revenue of its namesake
ketchup and infant products.
Sales in the U.S., it said, were hurt by a double-digit sales
decline in frozen meals.
Still, Heinz, which logged $7.1 million in merger-related costs,
reported net income for the quarter of $279 million, up from $199
million a year earlier, as the company benefited from net price
gains and continued to cut costs as part of owner Brazilian
private-equity firm 3G Capital Partners LP's "zero-based
budgeting."
Heinz affirmed its projections for the year.
Write to Maria Armental at maria.armental@wsj.com
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