Milling & Baking News Corporate Profiles - November 2013 - (Page 102)

Company Overview The Hershey Co. Company stays profitable, builds overseas presence A n old-line candy company with an iconic name, The Hershey Co., Hershey, Pa., is pointing itself in new directions that recognize the global nature of its market, the growing emphasis on wellness and the need to focus on corporate responsibility relating to the environment and employment practices. Along the way to acknowledging these imperatives, Hershey has been racking up impressive financial results as well in what may only be described as a mature market. Profits and sales growth have been strong and shares in the company gained significant ground in the first half of 2013. Several recent developments underscore Hershey's commitment to expanding overseas, especially in rapidly developing countries such as Mexico, India and China. Hershey accepts that it has been somewhat slow to expand internationally but sees its current initiatives as having benefitted from the prior experience of industry pioneers. To this end, the company recently outlined plans to build a confectionery plant in Malaysia to serve the growing Asian market. Another example of the company's growing international focus was the 2013 roll-out in China of a new brand for Hershey - its first in 30 years - of Lancaster Soft Cremes, a caramel candy. The product will become available in the United States in 2014, the company said. Observers have taken note of the fact that the product's debut on a limited basis was in China rather than the United States and saw this as a sign of Hershey's growing commitment to a global customer base. As for health considerations, Hershey is tailoring some of its packaging to be re-sealable, which makes it easier for consumers to exert portion control. Consumers know that eating candy is primarily an "indulgent" experience where people utilize sweets as rewards they want primarily for their enjoyable taste. Small, convenient portions of candy or chocolate have been successful in making it possible to have both the experience of a treat and the comfort of not overdoing it. In the realm of corporate citizenship, Hershey has had to deal with consumers who encouraged a boycott of chocolate bars made by the premium Scharffen Berger brand, owned by Hershey. Their issue was that the company was not doing enough to prevent child labor in the harvest of cocoa in Africa. Some retailers stopped stocking Scharffen Berger bars as a result. While Hershey does not think the ban will be lifted anytime soon, the company is engaging in other efforts to show it is a responsible corporate citizen. One such initiative is its collaboration with European chocolate maker Barry Callebaut in building a primary school in a cocoa-growing region in The Ivory Coast. Through the first six months of 2013, Hershey had net income of $401 million, or $1.77 per share, which was up from net income of $334 million, or $1.46 per share, in the same time period of the previous year. Six-month consolidated net sales were $3.3 billion, up from $3.1 billion in the same time period of the previous year. Hershey expected full-year net sales to increase about 7%. CP Chief executive officer - Top brands - John P. Bilbrey Hershey's Reese's Kit Kat Twizzlers Mounds York Almond Joy 2012 net sales - 102 \ November 2013 $6.6 billion Milling & Baking News * Food Business News * Baking & Snack * Meat & Poultry Corporate Profiles

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Milling & Baking News Corporate Profiles - November 2013

Milling & Baking News Corporate Profiles - November 2013