Mondelez International, the maker of Oreo biscuits and Cadbury's chocolate, posted a 11% decline in earnings in the third-quarter of fiscal 2014 compared to the same period a year ago, as a result of weaker revenues and higher expenses.
The net earnings totalled $899m, which has dropped from $1.01bn in the same quarter of last fiscal.
Total revenue dipped by 2% to touch $8.3bn. Following the adjustment from the impact of acquisitions and divestitures, sales grew 3%.
However, sales saw a decline of 2% in Europe as some French retailers stopped carrying Mondelez's snack items due to price hikes.
Mondelez had hiked price in August to offset surging commodity costs, but this resulted in a backlash in some markets of Europe.
Like several other firms, Mondelez too saw tepid demand in some key segments.
Following its split from Kraft Foods in 2012, the company had seen a string of disappointing quarterly results due to sluggish demand, which compelled Mondelez to cut costs.
Mondelez chairman and CEO Irene Rosenfeld said: "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.
"At the same time, we're continuing to make the foundational investments in our brands, route-to-market capabilities and supply chain to capture growth in our categories as they accelerate, especially in emerging markets."
Despite the dip in earnings, it topped analysts' expectations. It has raised its full-year 2014 earnings forecast to be between $1.82 and $1.87 per share. Earlier, the firm forecast the earnings to be between $1.73 and $1.78 per share.
Image: Mondelez International headquarters at Three Parkway North Deerfield in Illinois. Photo: courtesy of Mike Mitchell.
