March 15 at 12:51 p.m.
Filed under:
Food,
Government,
International,
M&A,
Packaged foods
By Dow Jones Newswires
Creme Eggs move down the line at the Bournville production plant. (Christopher Furlong/Getty)
Executives from Kraft Foods Inc. appeared at a parliamentary hearing Tuesday over the company’s 11.9 billion-pound acquisition of confectioner Cadbury a year ago, but the absence of Chief Executive Irene Rosenfeld drew criticism from lawmakers.
U.K. lawmakers on the Business, Innovation & Skills committee are discussing with Kraft — maker of Oreo cookies, Philadelphia cream cheese and Maxwell House coffee — the commitments it made a year ago following the takeover, as well as seeking reassurances on jobs and investment into research.
Last April, lawmakers said in a report that Northfield-based Kraft acted “irresponsibly” and “unwisely” during its acquisition of Cadbury and damaged its reputation in the U.K. Get the full story »
March 7 at 9:26 a.m.
Filed under:
Food,
International,
Investigations
By Reuters
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating Northfield-based Kraft Foods Inc. for possible corruption at an Indian facility of its Cadbury unit, the company said in a regulatory filing.
Kraft, the marker of Maxwell House coffee, Oscar Meyer lunch meats and Velveeta cheese, received a subpoena from the SEC on February 1, the filing said. Get the full story »
Feb. 22 at 5:14 p.m.
Filed under:
Food,
M&A,
Updated
By Emily Bryson York
Northfield-based Kraft Foods Inc. said Tuesday that it plans to bulk up its marketing efforts and introduce several new products in an effort to offset higher ingredient costs.
The company estimates that pricier ingredients will cost it between $700 million and $800 million in North America alone. The higher costs will be particularly important to areas where Kraft competes the most, including meat, cheese, chocolate and coffee. Get the full story »
Feb. 10 at 5:42 p.m.
Filed under:
Earnings,
Food,
Updated
By Emily Bryson York
Northfield-based Kraft Foods Inc. reported fourth-quarter earnings down 24 percent to $540 million. The company’s operating earnings, at 46 cents per share was in line with Wall Street expectations, but full-year earnings per share of $2.02 missed expectations by a penny.
The company’s shares fell 2.1 percent to $30.45 in after-hours trading. Get the full story »
Jan. 3 at 3:16 p.m.
Filed under:
International,
M&A
From The New York Times’ DealBook | India’s Ministry of Finance is investigating whether Kraft Foods evaded taxes in its $19 billion takeover of Cadbury last year.
Nov. 4, 2010 at 5:26 p.m.
Filed under:
Earnings,
Food,
M&A,
Updated
By Emily Bryson York
Northfield-based Kraft reported strong earnings of 47 cents per share on Thursday afternoon. But the company’s sales, up 26.6 percent to $11.9 billion, just missed expectations of $12 billion. Analysts had expected earnings of 46 cents per share.
Earnings for the world’s second-largest food company were lower than the year-ago period, of 55 cents, because of increased advertising investment, higher taxes, and commodity cost increases.
“We had another good quarter, and we’re executing well,” Kraft CEO Irene Rosenfeld said in a statement. “The Cadbury integration has proceeded smoothly and quickly, and we’re already benefiting from significant cost synergies. I remain confident that we will achieve our goals for 2010 and accelerate our growth in 2011.” Get the full story »
Sep. 15, 2010 at 3:39 p.m.
Filed under:
China,
Food,
International,
M&A,
Updated
By Emily Bryson York
Kraft executives laid out a strategy to deliver more growth and higher returns following its Cadbury acquisition, at the company’s annual investor conference in New York Wednesday.
In a presentation some analysts described as short on specifics, chief executive officer Irene Rosenfeld and key members of the executive team described a strategy of focusing on so-called “power brands” and regional brands in each area of the world, and a system for sharing best practices throughout the world. Get the full story »
Sep. 13, 2010 at 6:29 a.m.
Filed under:
China,
Food,
International,
Packaged foods
By Reuters
Oreo products packaged for distribution in China. (Lane Christiansen /Tribune)
Kraft Foods, North America’s largest food company, is looking to double the number of Chinese cities in which it distributes Cadbury products within the next two years, its China head said on Monday.
The number of cities in China in which Cadbury confectionary is sold would rise to about 40 by tapping Kraft’s distribution network, Lorna Davis, president and chairman of Kraft’s China operations told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in China. Get the full story »
By Emily Bryson York
Northfield-based Kraft Foods Inc. confirmed Tuesday that Mary Beth West, its chief marketing officer, has also taken on the role of chief category officer.
West has served as marketing chief for three years, and will now head the gum, candy, chocolate and business global category teams, along with Kraft’s multi-billion-dollar marketing division. She will continue reporting to chief executive officer Irene Rosenfeld.
Kraft confirmed West’s promotion, but did not provide further comment. Get the full story »
Aug. 13, 2010 at 10:33 p.m.
Filed under:
Food
By Dow Jones Newswires
Nelson Peltz’s Trian Partners on Friday reported no stake in Kraft Foods Inc. on June 30, according to regulatory filings.
Peltz previously held nearly 4.5 million shares in the food company, a significant portion of his portfolio. The famously aggressive shareholder has generally been selling his one-time massive position in Kraft–once worth more than $1 billion–since early last year, according to disclosures. Get the full story »
Aug. 13, 2010 at 5:55 a.m.
Filed under:
China,
Food,
International
By Dow Jones Newswires
Kraft Foods Inc. is seeking to raise the profile of Cadbury products in China as the U.S. food giant ramps up investments in developing markets, particularly the Asia-Pacific region, which has become Kraft’s key growth driver following its multi-billion dollar acquisition of the British confectioner earlier this year. Get the full story »
Aug. 11, 2010 at 6:16 a.m.
Filed under:
Food,
International
From Bloomberg News
Kraft Foods Inc., the world’s biggest confectioner after buying Cadbury Plc, will start making Tang and chocolate next year at a new $50 million plant in Brazil, fueling expansion in faster-growing developing markets.
The move is part of Chief Executive Officer Irene Rosenfeld’s strategy to use Cadbury’s strength in those regions and prove to investors that the merger makes sense. Kraft now gets about one-quarter of its almost $50 billion in sales from emerging markets because of Cadbury. Get the full story »
Aug. 6, 2010 at 9:31 a.m.
Filed under:
Food,
International,
M&A
From Bloomberg | In an interview with Bloomberg News, Kraft’s European president, Mike Clarke, said the company plans to focus on integrating the acquisitions of Cadbury Plc. and Groupe Danone SA’s LU unit, rather than make more purchases. “I don’t think we need at this time to buy other businesses to grow,” said Clarke.
Aug. 5, 2010 at 3:31 p.m.
Filed under:
Chicago executives,
Earnings,
Food
By Emily Bryson York
Kraft posted strong second-quarter earnings that beat analyst expectations by a penny, with earnings per share of 53 cents. Sales surged 25 percent, following the acquisition of Cadbury, to $12.25 billion. Still, the increase fell short of consensus, which was $12.33 billion. Get the full story »
July 7, 2010 at 6:01 a.m.
Filed under:
Food,
International,
M&A
By Dow Jones Newswires
Kraft Foods Inc. reached a deal to sell Cadbury’s Romanian operations to investment fund Oryxa Capital for an undisclosed amount. The deal — involving the Kandia-Excelent chocolate, soft cake and sugar confectionery business — is the last sale required by European regulators as part of Kraft’s $19 billion purchase earlier this year of Cadbury. Get the full story »
