Kraft Heinz beats analyst estimates for second quarter thanks to growth in emerging markets

Kraft Heinz topped Wall Street estimates for its second-quarter sales, as the firm saw key growth in emerging markets such as Asia and Latin America.

The company — which produces products such as Heinz tomato ketchup and Philadelphia cheese — said that its net sales rose 0.7% from $6.64bn to $6.69bn.

The American food firm said that its pricing increased 1.3 percentage points, to tackle higher input costs.

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In the US, which accounts for two-thirds of the company's business, net sales decreased by 1.9% to $4.51bn.

Yet, in its Europe, Middle East and Africa region, net sales climbed 8.7% compared to the same time last year to $703mn.

 The region also saw strong volume growth, thanks to the success of is condiments and sauces business in the region. 

In its Rest of World region, Kraft Heinz said net sales soared 13.5% to $906mn, compared to the same period last year. 

“Our results through the first half were stronger than the expectations we put forward as recently as three months ago, and we have been even more encouraged by our recent performance in the marketplace,” said Kraft Heinz CEO Bernardo Hees. 

“We believe we are now in a position to drive sustainable top-line growth from a strong pipeline of new product, marketing and whitespace initiatives that are backed by investments in capabilities for brand and category advantage. 

“And while cost inflation on many fronts has been holding back our bottom line, we expect our profitability to improve by year-end, with further momentum into 2019.”