Kraft Heinz Shares Rise 3% After Earnings Beat

Kraft Heinz Co. shares rose late Thursday after the company reported better-than-expected earnings in the second quarter, and sales were in line with Wall Street forecasts. Kraft Heinz said it earned $1.6 billion, or 63 cents a share, versus a loss of 91 cents a share in the year-ago period. Adjusted for one-time items, Kraft Heinz earned 85 cents a share, compared with 61 cents a share in the second quarter of 2015. The financial results "reflected significant gains from the ongoing integration of Kraft and Heinz, partially offset by currency translation and a higher tax rate versus the prior year period," the company said in a statement. Sales reached $6.8 billion, up from $2.6 billion a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected the company to report adjusted earnings of 73 cents a share on sales of $6.8 billion. Separately, Kraft Heinz announced a 4.3% increase in its dividend to 60 cents a share. Kraft Heinz shares rose 3.3% in late trading after ending the regular session up 0.8%.