Cheese and desserts help Kraft in first quarter

INTERNATIONAL – The world’s second largest branded foods company, Kraft Foods, announced on Tuesday that its cheese and dessert businesses helped deliver strong results for the first quarter of 2002.

In its North American business, Kraft said that cheese sales rose, driven by its Kraft natural cheese and Velveeta processed cheese brands. The company also said that its Cool Whip dairy product had seen strong sales due to strong merchandising.

However, the company said that cheese sales in Europe dropped in the first quarter due to increased price competition. The company said that this was balanced by strong sales in the Middle East.

Overall, Kraft Foods saw a net profit of $802 million (890 million euro) in the first quarter of 2002, up 19.7% on the same period last year. The company owns brands including Kraft cheeses and Philadelphia cream cheese.