CORRECTED – WRAPUP 1-Heinz profit up; Hormel hurt by turkey costs
August 21st, 2008 | by admin |(Corrects name of analyst in paragraph 5)
* Overseas sales, price increases help Heinz
* More weakness seen at Hormel turkey business
* Heinz sees full-year profit at top half of forecast
* Heinz shares up 2 percent in early trading
By Brad Dorfman
CHICAGO, Aug 21 (Reuters) – Price increases and new productsales helped H.J. Heinz Co (HNZ.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) post a bigger-than-expectedrise in quarterly profit on Thursday, while earnings fell atSpam lunch meat maker Hormel Foods Corp (HRL.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) because ofincreased costs at its Jennie-O turkey business.
Like most food companies, Heinz and Hormel have sufferedfrom rising commodity costs. But soaring corn feed costsparticularly hit Hormel, since it also raises turkeys that itsells.
Heinz, whose shares have risen nearly 11 percent this year,has been one of the better-performing food companies as itbenefits from its business overseas, new products in the UnitedStates and increased spending on marketing.