Kraft Heinz: battle won, not yet the war

Kraft Heinz is proud of its last quarter. So proud that it immediately raises expectations for the full year. The FMCG company can smoothly deflect higher costs.

More than compensated

“We delivered strong results in the first quarter of 2023,” says Miguel Patricio, CEO of Kraft Heinz. Both the North American home market and the international markets saw net sales growth, especially courtesy of foodservice and emerging markets. Even multiple price increases did not get demand down.

Net sales rose 7.3% to 6.49 billion dollars (5.88 billion euros), while adjusted gross profit climbed 10.3% to 1.5 billion dollars (1.36 billion euros). In particular, higher prices and efficiency gains more than offset higher costs and negative currency effects.

No victory yet

For the full year, Patricio is raising the earnings outlook. The company is now counting on profit growth of 4 to 6%. As for organic net revenue, the ketchup producer continues to count on 4-6% growth compared to 2022.

Though the top executive warns against overconfidence: “Our team’s continued focus on executing against the strategy is coming to fruition, but it’s not time to declare victory just yet. We remain committed to advancing our business transformation.”