Kraft Foods More Than Doubles 3Q08 Profit to $1.4 Billion with Solid Growth in Several Businesses

---

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Kraft Foods Incorporated (NYSE:KFT) (Northfield, Illinois) announced October 29 that its third-quarter 2008 profit has more than doubled to almost $1.4 billion compared with $596 million in the same period last year. The earnings include the one-time gain from an estimated $2.6 billion sale of Kraft's Post cereals business to Ralcorp Holdings Incorporated (NYSE:RAH) (St. Louis, Missouri).

The strong quarterly statement comes at the midpoint of a three-year turnaround strategy, which Chairwoman and CEO Irene Rosenfeld announced in February 2007 in an effort to redefine Kraft's markets, bolster marketing and encourage risk taking. At the time, Rosenfeld predicted that the company would hit its stride in 2009. Now, as Kraft begins its final quarter of 2008, Rosenfeld said the company is raising its outlook as it sees solid growth in several high-margin businesses, including Macaroni and Cheese, Kool-Aid, Jell-O and DiGiorno. "Our Q3 results have, again, shown that we're able to build our business momentum, despite significant headwinds," she said. "And although we face some new macroeconomic challenges, I am confident we can successfully navigate through them and that Kraft will emerge from the present environment even stronger."

Sales for the quarter totaled $10.46 billion, up from $8.76 billion in the same period last year. The overall volume of sales decreased 0.9% this quarter, although it was offset by an 8.9% increase in prices. "Going forward, I'm very comfortable that our pricing at current levels and our strengthened brand equities leave us well positioned to continue to manage changes in input costs, either up or down," Rosenfeld said. "Our volume has held up better than expected, despite significant cost-driven price increases and an increasingly unsettled economic environment."

Industrial Info is tracking seven active Kraft projects worth $63.5 million. The projects range from a $1 million maintenance shutdown of a bacon-processing plant in Coshocton, Ohio, to a $40 million production-line addition in Dover, Delaware.

View Plant Profile - 1072165 1008664
View Project Report - 10004328 13000809

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is a marketing information service specializing in industrial process, energy and financial related markets with products and services ranging from industry news, analytics, forecasting, plant and project databases, as well as multimedia services.