Consumer loyalty in the face of higher prices helped Kellogg Co. show good results for the most recent quarter.
Overall net sales for the quarter ending July 2 were up 8.7%, to $3.86 billion, compared with the same period last year. In the North America segment, sales were up 12% year-over-year, to $2.25 billion. Overall operating profit was down 18%, but when currency fluctuations and other costs are taken into account, adjusted operating profit increased 10%. Profit for the North America segment went up 5.2%, to $382 million.
The good results came about in spite of Kellogg charging an average of 14% more for its products during the quarter. Those increases helped buoy sales numbers despite overall sales volume declining 1.5%, a situation Kellogg blamed in part on shortfalls in its cereal inventory.
In a federal filing, Kellogg attributed the good results to its higher prices, a recovery from last year’s strike of four U.S. cereal plants, and 16% sales growth in the snacks segment. The growth in snacks is encouraging news for Kellogg as it prepares to break into three companies, one of them devoted to snacks.
