Heinz Reports Organic Sales Growth

Heinz benefited from 5.8% organic sales growth, led by the Company’s Top 15 brands, which posted organic sales growth of 8.5%. Net income grew 21.9% to $277 million.

 Heinz reported second-quarter revenue
of $2.61 billion, a 3.5% increase, led by higher sales of North
American Consumer Products. All segments generated year-over-year
organic sales growth for the quarter, except U.S. Foodservice. The
organic growth was led by a 34% increase in the Rest of World
segment, 11% growth in North American Consumer Products, 4% growth in
Europe and a 2% organic increase in Asia/Pacific despite the timing
impact of the Ramadan holiday. Emerging markets posted organic sales
growth of 11.5%. Overall, net pricing in the quarter, which ended on
October 29, improved by 7.1%, and acquisitions net of divestitures
increased sales by 1%. Sales were partially offset by a 1.3% decline
in volume and a 3.3% negative impact from changes in foreign exchange
rates.
Organic sales for Ketchup grew 12% driven by new packaging
formats in Europe and pricing globally. Heinz® Ketchup achieved
record market shares in Spain, Sweden, Austria, Switzerland and
Denmark during the quarter.

United States: The introduction of
Ore-Ida® Steam n’ Mash™ potatoes — one of the Company’s
most successful new product launches in recent years, combined with
the timing of price increases, propelled double-digit sales growth
for the Ore-Ida brand.