Kraft Foods Group, Northfield, Ill., said its first-quarter net revenues declined 0.2% from the previous period and operating income was down 18.1% for the period ended March 28.
In a statement, Kraft Chairman and CEO John T. Cahill said, "Our first quarter results reflected a solid start to 2015. We've stepped up our focus on execution, our pricing actions over the past year are coming through, and we're benefiting from a disciplined approach to marketing. There is clearly more work ahead of us, but we will continue to build on this momentum to delight our consumers and customers, and prepare us for the next chapter ahead."
In the company’s Cheese business segment, net revenues were $1,020 million, a 1.3% increase, which Kraft attributed to “the carryover impact of price increases in previous quarters as well as the timing of Easter-related shipments and the ongoing success of last year's Philadelphia soft cream cheese reinvention. These gains were partially offset by the negative impact to volumes from price increases, particularly in natural cheese and sandwich cheese.”
Operating income in the Cheese segment increased 19.8%, primarily reflecting better alignment of prices and input costs versus the year-ago quarter.
