Kraft Heinz (KHC) stock up after guidance, dividend announcement

Highlights

• Kraft Heinz (KHC) reported revenue of US$6.70 billion in Q4, FY21.
  
  
• Its net income was US$1.01 billion in fiscal 2021.
  
  
• It expects its organic sales to increase by a low-single-digit percentage in FY2022.

Kraft Heinz Company (KHC) stocks were gaining traction on Wednesday after reporting fourth-quarter results, topping estimates. The KHC stock was up over 1% in the premarket session.

The company increased the prices of its products to counterbalance the rising freight and raw material costs. For instance, prices of wheat, meat, edible oils, etc., had increased.

Also, the labor shortage added pressure to increase the prices. However, the company said that the demand for packaged foods and condiments helped post a better-than-expected profit.

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The Kool-Aid and Philadelphia cream cheesemaker benefited from the strong demand for snacks and other consumables in the period.

The Chicago, Illinois-based company had earlier grappled with weak sales, dragging down the value of its several high-profile brands.

The Heinz ketchup maker said it bumped up the prices by 3.8% in the fourth quarter.

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In addition, the economic recovery and the easing of pandemic restrictions boosted sales. The food company said the reopening of restaurants and colleges supported the recovery of its food business to the pre-pandemic level.

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Fourth-quarter highlights:

Kraft reported revenue of US$6.70 billion in the final quarter of fiscal 2021, compared to US$6.93 billion in the year-ago quarter. Although the figure dropped from the previous year's quarter due to the acquisitions and demergers, it topped Wall Street estimates.

The company's net loss came in at US$257 million, or US$0.21 per diluted share in the fourth quarter, compared to an income of US$1.03 billion, or US$0.84 per diluted share in Q4, FY20. The net loss was mainly due to non-cash impairment losses of US$1.3 billion in the quarter.

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For the full year, the company's net sales were US$26.04 billion, compared to US$26.18 billion in the same period of the previous year. Its net income was US$1.01 billion, or US$0.82 per diluted share, against an income of US$356 million, or US$0.29 per diluted share in fiscal 2020.

Meanwhile, the company has provided positive sales guidance for FY2022. It expects the organic sales to increase by a low-single-digit percentage from 1.8% in the previous year.

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Bottomline

The company’s board of directors announced a regular quarterly dividend of US$0.40 per share. The dividend would be payable on March 25 to shareholders of record as of March 11, 2022.

The KHC stock traded at US$35.2392 at 8:39 am ET on February 15, up 1.61% from its previous close. It has a market cap of US$42.44 billion. The stock declined 1.92% in the past 12 months.