(Reuters) -Cadbury-parent Mondelez International beat Wall Street estimates for first-quarter profit on Tuesday, driven by the high prices for its chocolates and biscuits.
Mondelez implemented several rounds of price increases in recent quarters to offset rising costs of inputs, such as cocoa in 2024, helping the company’s earnings.
This, along with its new product rollouts including the launch of the Glow Ups variant of its Sour Patch Kids candy and heavy-handed promotional activities and advertising spending helped the company draw in consumers amid high competition in the market.
However, Mondelez faces potential uncertainty due to an anticipated surge in product prices following U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff policies, which may impact consumer spending in the U.S., while the trade wars may affect its expansion efforts into emerging markets.
Shares of the Chicago-based company were up about 2% after the bell.
On an adjusted basis, the company earned 74 cents per share for the quarter ended March 31, ahead of analysts’ average estimate of 66 cents per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.
The Toblerone maker reported an increase in its prices by 6.6 percentage points in the quarter, while its volumes fell 3.5 percentage points.
Mondelez’s net revenue rose 0.2% to $9.31 billion for the quarter, compared with analysts’ average estimate of $9.33 billion.
The company also reaffirmed its annual forecast, including organic net revenue growth of about 5% and a 10% decline in adjusted profits, noting it does not reflect any potential tariff changes.
“Our Q1 pricing and share performance, along with the global strength of our categories, provide us with continued confidence in our full-year outlook,” said Mondelez CEO Dirk Van de Put in a statement.
(Reporting by Neil J Kanatt in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)
