The Kraft (NYSE:KFT) cupboard isn't bare, even if it feels that way. Yes, margins withered this past quarter as earnings fell to $0.33 a share. And yes, currency fluctuations accounted for just about all of a modest 4.5% uptick in revenues. Pesky commodity prices and higher marketing tabs? They ate away at the financials and have the food giant projecting full-year profits at the low end of its forecasted range.
No, it's not pretty. Even if you tack on $0.30 in restructuring charges to Kraft's expected net income of $1.63 to $1.70 per share, you are left with less than the $2.01 it made last year.
That makes management's remarks that it is progressing well on what it calls its sustainable growth plan a bit unnerving. Call me greedy, but I like a little more sustainability, growing, and planning in my sustainable growth plans. It's like pointing to a marathon registration form while taking night school crawling lessons.
Food companies are supposed to be consistent breadwinners. When Altria Group (NYSE:MO) spun off its Kraft division, it should have been a way to give investors a solid company that wasn't clouded with legal smoke. It sure hasn't been a picnic.
True, Kraft is rolling with the healthier herd, introducing CarbWell cereals, fat-free Triscuits, thinner pizza crusts, and a line of low-carb barbecue sauces. But it's hard to classify this as growth when, at best, these products are likely to replace sales of its existing products.
More promise can be found in a decision to ape Kellogg's (NYSE:K) approach of selling pricier yet smaller boxes of cereals just by tossing dried fruits into the mix. Kraft's Post Honey Bunches of Oats will go that route by adding dried peach and banana bits. If nothing else, an earnings release that refers to carbohydrates four times shows a company that realizes what it's up against.
Still, like its signature Oreo cookies, at least Kraft has a little cream in the middle. It's going to have to try harder to make its future the work of DoubleStuf.
Do you think Kraft will be able to execute on its sustainable growth plan, or is it time to cut the cheese? Is the Atkins' phenomenon here to stay or just another passing fad? All this and more -- in the Low Carb Way of Life discussion board. Only on Fool.com.
Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz loves his Oreos. Let him count the ways. He does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this story.
