• May 3, 2013

Kraft Foods Group reported Q1 2013 earnings and sales exceeding analysts' expectations, in part due to more aggressive marketing/advertising and product innovations.

Earnings excluding items were 76 cents a share and revenue was $4.55 billion. Analysts had expected the company to report earnings excluding items of 64 cents a share on $4.48 billion in revenue, according to a consensus estimate from Thomson Reuters, reported AP/CNBC. The company reaffirmed its 2013 outlook of earnings of $2.75 per share, in line with that of the North American food/beverage marekt as a whole.

Q1 net revenues and organic net revenues each grew by 2.1%.

Since the former Kraft Foods spun its faster-growing global snacks and candy business off as a separate company, Mondelez International, last October, the performance of Kraft Foods Group, which comprises well-established grocery brands in the mature North American market, has been closely watched.

While pruning less-profitable brand extensions, Kraft Foods Group has been investing in new line extensions, image-updating and increased marketing/new campaigns for a number of its key brands, including Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, Kraft Singles, Capri Sun, Grey Poupon, Kool-Aid, Lunchables, Philadelphia and Velveeta.