H.J. Heinz Company (NYSE:HNZ) today reported excellent full-year and fourth-quarter results for Fiscal 2010 as the Company delivered dynamic double-digit organic sales growth in Emerging Markets. For the full year, sales grew 4.8% to a record $10.5 billion, operating income increased 3.8% and the Company generated record operating free cash flow of $1.08 billion while contributing over $500 million to its pension plans. Heinz delivered strong EPS of $2.87 from continuing operations despite the unfavorable impact of foreign currency fluctuations. EPS movement for the year was unfavorably impacted by $0.29 from net currency movements. The Company’s return on invested capital reached 18.7%, one of the highest in its history, excluding the losses associated with discontinued operations.
Heinz Chairman, President and CEO William R. Johnson said: “Heinz delivered strong profit with record sales and cash flow in Fiscal 2010 as our businesses and iconic brands around the world performed well in a challenging and volatile global environment. Heinz’s Emerging Market businesses drove much of our growth, paced by outstanding performance in India, Indonesia, Russia, Latin America and the Middle East. Overall, it was another excellent year for Heinz as we significantly increased marketing and innovation to enhance our brand equity and drive volume growth in the second half after focusing on maintaining prior-year pricing to offset commodity inflation in the first half. Heinz improved gross profit margins, reflecting strong productivity gains, while also improving shareholder equity and return on invested capital.”
The Company’s strong financial performance in fiscal year 2010 was driven by 15.3% organic sales growth in Emerging Markets and 3.4% organic sales growth in its Top 15 brands. Heinz increased consumer marketing investments by over 25% and accelerated new product development. The Company improved gross profit margin by 50 basis points as it benefited from increased productivity and higher net pricing, which together more than offset commodity inflation.
Specifics in this release on potato activities:
In the U.S., sales of Ore-Ida®, the number-one brand of frozen potatoes, increased.
Listed among the noticable launches in fiscal 2010: Ore-Ida Sweet Potato Fries
