UPDATE: Mondelez Posts Upbeat Q3 Earnings, Lifts Full-Year Forecast

Shares of Mondelez International MDLZ gained more than 4.5% in pre-market trading after the company reported upbeat third-quarter profit and lifted its forecast for the full year. The Deerfield, Illinois-based company posted quarterly earnings of $899 million, or $0.53 per share, compared to $1.01 billion, or $0.56 per share, in the year-ago quarter. Excluding non-recurring items, the company's adjusted earnings came in at $0.50 per share. Its revenue dropped 1.6% to $8.34 billion, while organic net revenue rose 2.7%. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.40 per share on revenue of $8.38 billion. Organic net revenue from emerging markets rose 9.0%, while developed markets revenue slipped 1.3%. In the first nine months of the year, Mondelez repurchased $1.2 billion of its common stock at an average price of $35.33 per share. "We continue to drive top-tier earnings growth and margin expansion in a challenging operating environment," said Irene Rosenfeld, Chairman and CEO. "With global retail and consumer demand expected to remain soft in the near term, we're sharply focused on the execution of our productivity and cost-reduction programs to drive earnings growth.” For 2014, Mondelez now expects adjusted earnings of $1.82 to $1.87 per share, versus its earlier forecast of $1.64 to $1.69 per share. Mondelez shares climbed 4.57% to $36.63 in pre-market trading.