UPDATE: Hershey Posts Rise In Q4 Earnings

Hershey Co

reported a 24% rise in its fourth-quarter earnings. Hershey's quarterly profit gained to $186.1 million, or $0.82 per share, from a year-ago profit of $149.9 million, or $0.66 per share. Excluding special items, it earned $0.86 per share. Its sales surged 12% to $1.96 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.86 per share on sales of $1.89 billion. Hershey shares closed at $96.72 yesterday.