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Empresas y finanzas

Kraft profit up on retiree benefit gain, cost savings


    (Reuters) - Kraft Foods Group Inc on Thursday reported a higher quarterly profit on lower costs and a large accounting gain related to retiree benefits.

    The company's shares rose 2.1 percent in extended trading.

    Kraft, whose stable of famous food brands includes Velveeta cheese, Jell-O desserts and Maxwell House coffee, said fourth-quarter net earnings rose to $931 million, or $1.54 per share, up from $90 million, or 15 cents per share, a year ago.

    Earnings from the latest quarter included a $1.11 per share accounting gain due to higher discount rates and asset returns that benefited its pension and retiree medical plans.

    Net revenue grew 2.3 percent to $4.6 billion with the company shipping more products.

    Shares of Kraft, which closed at $53.61, climbed to $54.75 in after-hours trading.

    Kraft, whose products also include Oscar Mayer lunch meats, Planters nuts and Capri Sun juices, lost its exposure to high-growth emerging markets after its 2012 split from Mondelez International Inc and has been working to increase sales of its stable of mature brands.

    (Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Editing by Bernard Orr)