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Empresas y finanzas

Kraft profit beats by a penny


    (Reuters) - Kraft Foods Inc reported quarterly profit on Thursday that was slightly ahead of Wall Street estimates, helped by price increases and an earlier Easter holiday.

    North America's largest packaged food maker, which will split into two companies later this year, also reaffirmed its full-year growth targets.

    Kraft posted net earnings of $813 million, or 46 cents per share, in the first quarter, up from $799 million, or 45 cents per share, a year earlier.

    Excluding items, earnings were 57 cents per share. On that basis, analysts on average were expecting 56 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

    Net revenue rose 4 percent to $13.09 billion, topping analysts' estimate of $13.05 billion.

    The company said it still expects 2012 growth of about 5 percent for revenue and at least 9 percent for operating earnings.

    Kraft shares slipped 0.5 percent to $39.40 in extended trade after closing at $39.59 on the New York Stock Exchange.

    (Reporting by Martinne Geller in New York; Editing by Richard Chang)