Hershey''s profit rises 46.9%

The American chocolate maker Hershey reported third-quarter net profit of $ 227,400,000, 46.9% higher result recorded in the same interval last year. Diluted earnings per share reached $ 1.06, up from $ 0.70 a year earlier.
The company reported that the result for the quarter was benefited by the increased sales related to Halloween in North America and by the strengthening of marketing activities in the period.
Sales rose 2.2 percent in the quarter, including the impact of acquisitions and foreign exchange losses in the period, reaching $ 2.0 billion. Excluding the effect of exchange rate variations, sales increased 2.4% compared to the same interval last year. By volume, sales rose and had a contribution of 1 percentage point in increasing revenue. In Brazil and in Mexico, sales rose 18% in constant currency.
The cost of sales, General and administrative, marketing retreated around 2% in the quarter. As a result, operating profit increased 7.6% in the quarter, reaching $ 446,400,000.
For the year, the company expects an increase of 1% in sales revenue. For earnings per share, the prospect is of an increase of 4% to 5% for a value between $ 4.28 and $ 4.32.