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Empresas y finanzas

Kraft profit up, sees long-term Cadbury boost


    NEW YORK (Reuters) - Kraft Foods Inc posted a higher quarterly profit and said its recent acquisition of British chocolatier Cadbury Plc would help accelerate long-term growth.

    The maker of Oreo cookies and Velveeta cheese said fourth-quarter earnings rose to $710 million, or 48 cents a share, compared with $178 million, or 12 cents a share, a year earlier, which included costs tied to Kraft's restructuring program.

    Analysts on average forecast 45 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

    Revenue rose 3.2 percent to $11 billion. Organic revenue, which excludes currency moves and recent asset purchases and sales, rose 0.4 percent, hit by a decline in dairy costs that led the company to lower cheese prices.

    Kraft concluded a nearly five-month long battle to acquire CADBURY (CBRY.LO)when it agreed on Jan 19 to up its offer to $19.6 billion.

    At that time, the company said expected the Cadbury deal to hurt 2010 results. On Tuesday, Kraft said it was targeting an addition of 5 cents per share to earnings from the deal on a cash basis in 2011 and long-term EPS growth of 9 percent to 11 percent from the combined company.

    Kraft shares fell 32 cents to $28.77 in premarket trading.

    (Reporting by Michele Gershberg; Editing by Derek Caney)