Heinz squeezes out 92% profit

Heinz, the world’s biggest ketchup maker, said fourth-quarter earnings rose 92%, helped by lower costs and increased sales of low-carbohydrate ketchup and Ore-Ida Extra Crispy frozen potatoes.

Net income climbed to $196.5m, or 55 cents a share, from $102.6m, or 29 cents, a year earlier, when there were costs to sell businesses, the company said in a statement.

Sales in the quarter ended April 28 rose 6.3% to $2.33 billion, the biggest gain in more than a year.