Kraft Heinz Faces Revenue Slump In Q1, CEO Remains Optimistic On Growth Plan

Kraft Heinz Company KHC shares are trading lower after the company’s first-quarter FY24 revenue missed the street estimates.

The company reported a first-quarter FY24 sales decline of 1.2% year-on-year to $6.411 billion, missing the analyst consensus estimate of $6.429 billion.

Sales in North America declined 1.2% Y/Y, and International Developed Markets slipped 0.6%. Organic net sales slipped 0.5%.

Gross profit increased by 6.2% Y/Y to $2.24 billion, with the margin expanding 240 points to 35%.

Operating margin for the quarter was 20.3%, and the operating income increased 4.7% to $1.3 billion.

Selling, general and administrative expenses rose 8.2% to $941 million. Adjusted EPS of $0.69 was in line with the consensus estimate.

Kraft Heinz held $1.62 billion in cash and equivalents as of March 30. Operating cash flow for the quarter totaled $771 million, with a free cash flow of $477 million.

As of March 30, the company had remaining authorization to repurchase $2.6 billion of common stock under the publicly announced share repurchase program. 

“Our Agile@Scale methodology continues to fuel reinvestment in the business, helping to deliver against our gross efficiency target. These reinvestments are powering innovation, brand superiority, disruptive marketing, sales excellence, and further productivity to drive growth,” said CEO Carlos Abrams-Rivera.

Abrams-Rivera continued, “As a result, we are reiterating our outlook for 2024 and remain confident in our ability to drive profitable growth.”

Outlook: Kraft Heinz continues to expect FY24 adjusted EPS of $3.01 – $3.07 versus an estimate of $3.04.

The company reaffirmed its FY24 organic revenue growth forecast of 0%-2%.

Price Action: KHC shares are trading lower by 4.43% at $36.90 in premarket at the last check Wednesday.

Photo by ImipolexG via Flickr