Woolworths Ltd, Australia’s largest retailer, booked a 6% rise in half-year profits on Friday, hitting the top end of a forecast it lowered last month.The company posted net profit after tax of $1.16 billion for the 27 weeks to 2 January. Last month, Woolworths cut its profit growth target for the first half of its financial year from 8-11% to 5-6%, citing lower consumer spending and the poor weather seen in Australia in recent months. The retailer’s EBIT was up 6.2% to $1.79 billion,... ...Read more »

US spice maker McCormick is working to build its presence in developing markets, with the company looking for 12% of its turnover to come from these markets by 2015, up from 9% in 2010. The company sees India as a key part of this strategy, with McCormick chairman, president and CEO Alan Wilson outlining “four avenues of growth” in the country. Wilson highlighted the importance of the market, saying that the country has five times the spice use than than of the US. He added that while... ...Read more »

US spice giant McCormick & Co. has booked an increase in full-year profits, driven by product innovation and expanded distribution during the year. For the 12 months to the end of November, profits increased 14.7% to US$370.2m. Operating profit climbed 5.5% to $509.8m, the firm reported today (26 January). Sales reached $1.99bn, up from $1.91m a year ago. Alan Wilson, McCormick’s chairman, president & CEO, said: In an economic environment that remains difficult in many of our major... ...Read more »

Shares in Woolworths Ltd dropped yesterday as the supermarket chain lowered its earnings forecast for the first half of fiscal 2011. Woolworths said its net profit for the six months to 2 January would rise by 5% to 6%, below the forecast of an increase 8-11% that it issued in August. CEO and MD Michael Luscombe said Australian consumers had cut back on spending compared to a year earlier, when the Federal government’s stimulus package had buoyed the economy in the wake of the financial crisis. “Following... ...Read more »

Cargill’s profits more than tripled in the second quarter of its fiscal year, the US agribusiness giant said yesterday as the company benefited from rising commodity prices. The company booked net earnings of US$1.49bn for the three months to 30 November, up from $489m a year ago. As well as the benefit from higher commodity prices, Cargill was also lapping last year’s second quarter, when profits from The Mosaic Co. were hit by lower crop fertilizer prices. Neverthless, excluding its... ...Read more »

Shares in Barry Callebaut, the Switzerland-based chocolate giant, jumped today after the company posted rising first-quarter sales, helped by the emerging markets. Barry Callebaut recorded a 4.9% rise in sales to CHF1.52bn (US$1.56bn), although that growth was dampened by the strength of the Swiss franc versus the euro and the US dollar. When measured in local currencies, sales rose 14.2%. The company, which supplies the likes of Kraft Foods, Nestle and Hershey, said its sales volumes for the three... ...Read more »

Campbell Soup Co has delivered strong earnings growth in what it described as a “challenging year”.For the twelve-month period, net earnings amounted to US$844m compared to $736m in the prior year period. Sales edged up 1% to $7.67bn, while EBIT climbed to $1.35bn from $1.18bn in the prior year. Douglas Conant, Campbell’s president and CEO, said: “In a challenging year, we delivered strong earnings growth, overcoming softer-than-expected sales, particularly in our US soup... ...Read more »

US food and edible oils giant Cargill ended its fiscal year with a fourth quarter in which its profits more than doubled, the company announced this week. Cargill posted fourth-quarter net earnings of US$691 million for the three months to the end of May, up from $327 million a year ago. Excluding the results from fertilizer firm The Mosaic Co., in which Cargill owns a majority stake, fourth-quarter profits were up 87%. For the full fiscal year, Cargill’s profits dropped 22% to $3.33bn. Excluding... ...Read more »

Kellogg said yesterday (29 July) that it saw net earnings decline 15% in the second quarter of 2010 due to the competition in the US cereals business and the impact of a product recall last month. The US cereals giant booked net income of US$302m for the three months to 3 July, down 15% on the year. The company said “weakness” in the North American cereal category, lower sales of Eggo waffles and the voluntary recall of select packages of breakfast cereals in June had hit earnings. Operating... ...Read more »