The Kraft Heinz Company reported financial results for the first quarter of 2022 that reflected strong price realization, resilient retail demand and foodservice growth.
"Our first quarter was a strong start to the year and yet another period where our team rose to mitigate new and different macro environment challenges," said Kraft Heinz CEO Miguel Patricio. "We continue to build critical capabilities, greater corporate agility, and additional financial flexibility to address short-term turmoil while building our long-term advantage. We still have work to do, more opportunity ahead, and we remain confident in our ability to deliver our plan for the year as well as our long-term growth strategy."
Q1 2022 financial summary
- Net sales decreased 5.5% versus the year-ago period to $6 billion, including a negative 11.2 percentage point impact from divestitures net of acquisitions and a negative 1.1 percentage point impact from currency. Organic net sales increased 6.8% versus the prior year period. Pricing was up 9.0 percentage points versus the prior year period with growth across each reporting segment that was primarily driven by increases to mitigate rising input costs in retail and foodservice channels. Volume/mix declined 2.2 percentage points versus the year-ago period reflecting supply constraints that were partially offset by strong demand for products in retail and a continued recovery in foodservice channels.
- Net income/(loss) increased 37.5% versus the year-ago period to $781 million primarily driven by lower non-cash impairment losses in the current year period, lower interest expense primarily due to debt extinguishment costs in the prior year period, and favorable changes in other expense/(income). These factors were partially offset by lower adjusted EBITDA and higher tax expenses versus the prior year period. Adjusted EBITDA decreased 15.1% versus the year-ago period to $1.3 billion with performance including an unfavorable impact from divestitures of 7.2 percentage points and an unfavorable 0.6 percentage point impact from currency. The remaining year-over-year change in adjusted EBITDA reflected higher pricing and efficiency gains that were more than offset by higher commodity costs, primarily in dairy, packaging materials, and meat, as well as higher supply chain costs, reflecting inflationary pressure in procurement, logistics and manufacturing costs.
- Diluted EPS was $0.63, up 37% versus the prior year, driven by the net income/(loss) factors discussed above. Adjusted EPS was $0.60, down 16.7% versus the prior year, primarily driven by lower adjusted EBITDA, including a negative $0.08 impact from divestitures, and higher taxes on adjusted earnings that more than offset lower interest expense versus the prior year period.
- Net cash provided by operating activities was $486 million, down 40% versus the year-ago period, primarily driven by lower adjusted EBITDA and higher cash outflows for inventories primarily related to stock rebuilding and increased input costs. These impacts were partially offset by lower cash outflows for interest primarily due to prior year reduction of long-term debt and lower cash outflows for variable compensation in 2022 compared to 2021. Free Cash Flow was $272 million, down 53.4% versus the comparable prior year period due to the lower net cash provided by operating activities that was partially offset by lower capital expenditures versus the prior year period.
Outlook
The company continues to expect strong financial performance in 2022. The Company is raising expectations for 2022 Organic Net Sales to a mid-single-digit percentage increase versus the prior year period, reflecting strong performance to date, ongoing business momentum, and additional pricing actions to mitigate ongoing inflation. The company continues to expect Adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $5.8 billion to $6.0 billion with a 48% to 52% first half to second half split. This reflects a 53rd week in 2022, the impact of divestitures versus the prior year, strong organic net sales as well as the company's ongoing efforts to manage inflationary pressures, including unlocking gross efficiencies, as it continues to invest in long-term growth.
