H.J. Heinz (HNZ) has reported that for fiscal Q3 2013, although sales grew by 2% year-over-year to $2.93 billion during the quarter, net profit declined by 5% to $270 million ($0.83 per share).
The company says it would have reported a gain in profitability had it not been for the impact of discontinued operations, which affected EPS by $0.12. On average, analysts had been expecting sales of $2.99 billion and EPS of $0.90.
In spite of the bottom-line drop, certain segments in the company's business performed well. It characterized its emerging-markets segments as "the primary growth driver" as organic sales in the sector increased by nearly 18% on a year-over-year basis, led by Latin America, Indonesia, and China. During Q3, emerging markets were responsible for 23% of total sales. Global Ketchup delivered organic sales growth of 4.2%, driven by strong performance in Russia, Latin America, and Canada.
Heinz made headlines last week when it was announced that the company had entered into a buyout agreement with a consortium comprised of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Capital.
