Kellogg Up on Strong Earnings

Cereal and snack food maker Kellogg K reported strong growth, with net sales up to $3 billion. This represents a 5.4% increase in sales from the previous year. Earnings for the Q4 2011 climbed 25% from the previous year to $232 million, or 64 cents per share. The results barely beat analyst estimates of 62 cents per share on revenues of $2.99 billion. Kellogg CEO John Bryant credited expansion for the strong numbers. "We are pleased to have again posted very strong revenue growth and we have continued to make the investments necessary for future growth. Without the impact of the compensation costs and the supply-chain investment, our underlying operating profit increased in line with the company's long-term target of mid single-digit growth," he said on the results. Growth was fueled by international sales, which were up 8.3% for 2011 and 2.9% for Q4. The company also renewed guidance of internal net sales growth of 4 to 5% thanks to improvement in price and stronger innovation. The stock was up nearly 2% higher past the $50 mark in pre-market trading.