USA: Kellogg grows sales in 2015

US cereal and convenience foods giant Kellogg has announced that it “met or exceeded initial guidance” for sales, operating profit, earnings per share, and cash flow in full year 2015, according to its recently disclosed financial statements.

Kellogg’s net sales rose to $13.525 billion, with reported growth up 7.2%, and currency-neutral comparable growth up 1.2% on full year 2014. The company’s margin stood at 38.8% in full year 2015, as compared to 38.9% in full year 2014. Operating profit was up 6.6% (currency-neutral comparable growth up 2.3%) to $1.091 billion versus FY 2014.

The company also noted that trends in the US cereal business continued to improve in the fourth quarter, with morning goods growth driven especially by its “core six” brands.

John Bryant, Kellogg chairman and chief executive officer, said: "Our results in 2015 met or exceeded our initial expectations. We saw good growth in many of our businesses, and importantly, trends continued to improve in the U.S. Cereal business. We're very pleased with the foundation that we've built. We are committed to achieving our long-term goals for growth in 2016, supported by our increasing momentum and unprecedented productivity programs".

Source: Kellogg