Ketchup giant reports dip

H.J. Heinz has said quarterly earnings fell nearly 10%, as expected by Wall Street, after the ketchup maker lost income from underperforming units it spun off late last year.

In December last, Heinz shed about a fifth of its business, including its tuna, pet and baby food divisions, to canned foods processor Del Monte Foods.

It turned its focus to core products like condiments, promoting new versions of ketchup such as its EZ Squeeze upside down ketchup bottle and colored ketchups targeted at children.

But earnings from the remaining businesses have risen, aided by strong performance in US ketchup and sauces and wider operating margins in the Asia Pacific region where the Pittsburgh-based company has been expanding.

The company's North American frozen foods business, which includes Smart Ones entrees and Ore-Ida potatoes, has showed a decline.

This has been attributed in part to low-carbohydrate eating trends such as the Atkins diet and competition from cheaper store brands that became popular in the tight economy.

Heinz said it earned $191.5m (€162m), in the fiscal second quarter ended October 29, matching the average analysts' estimate compared with $212.1m (€179.4m), a year earlier.