H. J. Heinz Company has reported strong earnings and sales growth for Fiscal 2008 as annual sales eclipsed $10 billion for the first time in the company’s history.
Earnings per share rose 11% to $2.63 from $2.38 from continuing operations in the prior year and annual sales surged 12% to $10.1 billion driven by 14% growth in Heinz branded products, 26% growth in Weight Watchers and Weight Watchers Smart Ones brands, and 25% growth in emerging markets. Operating income increased 8.5% to $1.57 billion as Heinz benefited from increased volume, improved pricing and productivity, and favorable currency exchange rates. Full-year net income from continuing operations increased 7% to $845 million.
Heinz Asia/Pacific continued to drive very strong growth in sales and operating income, up 21% and 30%, respectively.
Organic sales increased 9.3%, benefiting from a 6.5% volume improvement.
The volume increase reflected significant improvements across the majority of the businesses, particularly Australia, India and China, related primarily to new product introductions and a 35% increase in marketing.
Pricing increased 2.8%, due to increases on soy sauce and beverages in Indonesia, Long Fong frozen products in China and nutritional products in India.
Acquisitions, net of divestitures, increased sales 1.6%, and favorable exchange translation rates increased sales by 10.4%.
Operating income increased 29.8% due to sales growth, favorable mix, and foreign exchange partially offset by increased commodity costs and increased marketing expense from investment in our brands.
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