CHICAGO - Food maker Sara Lee Corp. said Wednesday it swung to a second-quarter profit, boosted by strong international beverage and bakery sales.
Net income for the quarter that ended Dec. 29 totaled $182 million, or 25 cents per share. That compares with a loss of $62 million, or 8 cents per share, during the same period last year.
Revenue climbed nearly 10 percent to $3.49 billion from $3.18 billion, helped by the benefit of a weaker dollar.
Excluding 2 cents per share in charges from exit activities and information technology costs and a 5 cent per share tax benefit, net income for the Downers Grove-based company was 22 cents per share. The year-ago quarter included a number of items that lowered earnings by 29 cents.
Analysts polled by Thomson Financial predicted a profit of 24 cents per share on revenue of $3.43 billion. The earnings estimates typically exclude one-time items.
Sales of household and body care products and North American retail bakery sales were also strong, Sara Lee said, helping it weather record-high commodities prices that have plagued many competitors.
"Our strategic approach to pricing, combined with the impact of procurement and continuous improvement savings, helped offset significantly increased input costs," Chief Executive Brenda Barnes said in a statement.
The company expects fiscal 2008 earnings to be between $1.03 and $1.09, including 18 cents per share of proceeds from the sale of its tobacco business in 1999. Analysts expect a profit of 96 cents per share, but those estimates typically exclude such one-time items.
Sara Lee predicted 2008 revenue of $13.4 billion, while analysts said they expect revenue of $13.22 billion.
Shares of the Sara Lee slipped a penny to $13.96 in morning trading.
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