Mondelez International Q1 Earnings Top Views, Shares Rise

Shares of Mondelez International Inc MDLZ jumped over 3 percent in pre-market trading after the company reported upbeat earnings for the first quarter. The Deerfield, Illinois-based company reported a quarterly profit of $324 million, or $0.19 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $163 million, or $0.09 per share. Excluding special items, the company earned $0.41 per share. Its revenue slipped 10.2 percent to $7.76 billion, while organic revenue climbed 3.8 percent. Analysts were expecting a profit of $0.37 per share on revenue of $7.72 billion. The average estimate among 5 Estimize users was for earnings of $0.38 per share and revenue of $7.78 billion. Sales in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region slipped 17.1 percent, while sales gained 0.9 percent in North America. Sales in Asia Pacific dropped 5.7 percent. Operating income slipped 3.8 percent to $811 million in the quarter. Mondelez reaffirmed its forecast for 2015. During the quarter, the company repurchased $1.5 billion of its common stock at an average price of $35.98 per share. "We're making good progress executing our transformation agenda. Our solid first quarter positions us well to deliver our full year 2015 outlook and 2016 margin targets," said Irene Rosenfeld, Chairman and CEO. "We remain intently focused on productivity and cost reduction to drive strong margin expansion and earnings growth. This enables continued investment in our Power Brands, supply chain, and sales and distribution capabilities to drive sustainable revenue and earnings growth." Mondelez shares gained 3.29 percent to $38.01 in pre-market trading.