US: Mondelez beat profit estimates, increases margins | Progresiv
Mondelez International Inc reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit helped by cost cutting and price increases, as the maker of Cadbury chocolate and Oreo cookies seeks to boost margins amid slow growth in demand for packaged foods. 
Mondelez has focused on cutting costs with measures such as factory closures and zero-based budgeting, which requires managers to justify every cost in each new period. In the first quarter, Mondelez's operating margin and gross profit margin rose to 10.4 percent and 37.9 percent, respectively, from the year-earlier period.
Still, the company has grappled in recent quarters with volatility in some markets. Sales in Europe, where it raised prices to cover higher cocoa costs and faced weak demand, fell for the third straight quarter, down 16.4 percent to 2.98 billion dollars.
The company's sales in North America were weak, rising just 0.9 percent to 1.68 billion dollars, as a result of a strategy by Wal-Mart Stores Inc to reduce in-store displays and give store managers more control over merchandise space.
Net income rose to 312 million dollars, or 19 cents per share, from 150 million dollars, or 9 cents per share. Excluding items, the company earned 41 cents per share, beating the average analyst forecast of 37 cents. Total revenue fell 10.2 percent to 7.76 billion dollars in the three months ended March 31, the sharpest drop in six quarters. (www.reuters.com)
