Kraft Heinz Co (NASDAQ:KHC) stock rose 1.09% (As on May 2, 11:24:36 AM UTC-4, Source: Google Finance) after the company posted first-quarter 2024 results, wherein the bottom line increased year over year and beat the market expectations despite the top line declining from the year-ago period. Organic net sales fell 0.5% year over year. Pricing rose 2.7 percentage points year over year, reflecting growth in all segments. The upside can be attributed to higher list prices to counter escalated input costs. However, the volume/mix fell 3.2 percentage points due to declines in North America and International Developed Markets segments stemming from the elasticity effect of pricing actions and lower SNAP benefits in the United States. This was partly made up by the higher volume/mix in the Emerging Markets segment. The adjusted gross profit of $2,210 million increased from the $2,130 million reported in the year-ago quarter. The adjusted gross margin expanded 170 basis points to 34.5%. Adjusted operating income grew 1.7% to $1,265 million, mainly on elevated pricing.
KHC in the first quarter of FY 24 has reported the adjusted earnings per share of 69 cents, beating the analysts’ estimates for the adjusted earnings per share of 68 cents, according to the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The company had reported 1.2 percent fall in the adjusted revenue growth to $6.41 billion in the first quarter of FY 24, missing the analysts’ estimates for revenue of $6.42 billion.
Moreover, North America net sales was of $4,828 million declined 1.2% year over year. International Developed Markets net sales was of $855 million were down 0.6% year over year. Emerging Markets net sales was of $728 million were down 2.1% year over year.
Additionally, Kraft Heinz ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $1,626 million, long-term debt of $19,923 million and total shareholders’ equity of $49,653 million. Net cash provided by operating activities was $771 million for the first quarter, and free cash flow amounted to $477 million. In addition, Kraft Heinz declared a quarterly dividend of 40 cents per share, payable on Jun 28, 2024, to shareholders of record as of Jun 6.
The company expects 2024 organic net sales growth to come in the range of flat to increase 2%, adjusted gross margin expansion to be in the 50-100 basis point band, adjusted operating income is expected to increase 2-4% from the year-ago period and the adjusted EPS for 2024 is envisioned to grow 1-3% to the band of $3.01-$3.07.