Battle Creek / MG. (kc) Kellogg Company announced second-quarter 2018 results and updated its financial guidance to reflect higher net sales and earnings per share. Highlights:
- The quarter featured continued improvement in net sales performance, driven by key businesses and brands across the portfolio, and fueled by Deploy for Growth priorities and increased investment.
- As planned, brand investment was increased at a strong double-digit rate.
- Earnings per share rose strongly again in Q2.
- Management updated its financial guidance* for 2018, raising its outlook for net sales, both on a currency-neutral and organic basis, to reflect good first-half momentum, and it increased its outlook for currencyneutral adjusted earnings per share to reflect a lower effective tax rate.
«We’re pleased to report another quarter in which we delivered improving top-line performance and strong earnings growth, even after a significant boost in brand investment,» said Steve Cahillane, Kellogg Company’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. «We’ve strengthened our portfolio with acquisitions and expanded emerging markets presence, and we’ve reinvigorated our biggest brands. This is starting to show up in our net sales and our in-market performance, and puts us in a position to raise our full-year guidance. We’re still in the early days of Deploy for Growth, but we like our progress so far in 2018.»
