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Empresas y finanzas

Kraft beats on profit, keeps outlook, shares fall


    NEW YORK (Reuters) - Kraft Foods Inc reported better-than-expected quarterly profit, but shares fell nearly 1 percent after the company affirmed its full-year forecast.

    Kraft, North America's largest packaged food company, said net income was $754 million, or 43 cents per share, in the third quarter, down from $824 million, or 55 cents per share, a year earlier.

    Excluding one-time costs, earnings were 47 cents per share. On that basis, analysts on average were expecting 46 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

    Net revenue rose 26 percent to $11.86 billion, helped by the $18.4 billion purchase of Britain's Cadbury, which added Cadbury chocolate, Trident gum and Halls lozenges to a portfolio that includes dozens of brands such as Oreo cookies, Philadelphia cream cheese and Maxwell House coffee.

    Kraft said it expects 2010 combined organic net revenue growth of 3 percent to 4 percent and operating earnings of at least $2 per share.

    Kraft shares fell 0.9 percent to $31.50 in afterhours trade.

    (Reporting by Martinne Geller. Editing by Robert MacMillan)