Kraft Heinz Co., formed by a merger of two U.S. food giants last year, posted first-quarter sales and profit that topped estimates after the company cut expenses and made inroads with new condiments.
Excluding some items, profit was 73 cents per share in the period, the company said in a statement Wednesday. The average estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg was 61 cents. Revenue for the quarter was $6.57 billion, beating an estimate of $6.48 billion.
Kraft Heinz has made a bigger push into mustard and barbecue sauce over the past year, aiming to build on its leading position in ketchup. The company also has updated some of its products to adjust to changing consumer tastes. That's included removing artificial colors and flavors from Kraft Macaroni & Cheese and release of an organic version of Capri Sun juice.
The stock rose as much as 5.8 percent to $84.60 in late trading after the results were posted. Kraft Heinz had gained 9.9 percent this year through Wednesday's market close.
Kraft Heinz, which generates more than 70 percent of its sales in the U.S., has relied on staff reductions and other belt-tightening measures to cope with an industrywide slowdown. The strategy has been overseen by 3G Capital, the investment firm that took Heinz private in 2013 and oversaw the merger with Kraft in July.
Business on 05/05/2016