UPDATE 1-Kraft Heinz misses fourth-quarter sales estimates

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Feb 14 (Reuters) – Kraft Heinz missed market expectations for fourth-quarter sales on Wednesday, as higher prices weighed on demand for its soups, sauces and meat cold cuts.

The company stepped up promotions significantly in North America to spur demand during the quarter, but pressures from higher prices kept volumes under check.

Quarterly volumes were down 4.4 percentage points (pp) in the quarter, compared with a 5.4 pp decline in the preceding quarter.

Prices rose 3.7 pp across Kraft Heinz’s portfolio versus a 7.1 pp increase in the third quarter.

Kraft Heinz forecast annual organic net sales of flat to 2% growth. In 2023, it posted organic net sales growth of 3.4%. The company said it hopes volumes would turn to positive in the second half of the year.

The Heinz sauce maker posted net sales of $6.86 billion in the three months ended Dec. 30, compared with analysts’ average estimate of $6.99 billion, according to LSEG data.

Shares of the company, known for its Kool-Aid drink mix, were down 1% in premarket trading. The stock was down about 9% in 2023. (Reporting by Savyata Mishra and Anuja Bharat Mistry in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)

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