Thursday, March 28

Hershey Sells 2 International Businesses to Focus on US Snacking

Hershey has reportedly announced the sale of two of its international businesses as it continues to shift its efforts to U.S. snacking. The chocolate company has been focusing on expanding its snacks business.

It recently acquired Skinny Pop parent Amplify Brands for $1.6 billion. Those efforts came after previous attempts at expanding internationally stumbled. The company stated that it sold Shanghai Golden Monkey, the Chinese candy company that it purchased in 2014, as well Tyrrells, the U.K. chip business it acquired through its purchase of Amplify.

Shanghai Golden Monkey Food Joint Stock in China, meant to be a launching pad for Hershey in the region, faltered when the founder left early on and the chocolate market dipped. At present, in this space, the global market is being dominated by giants like Nestle, Mars and Mondelez.

“We’ve identified the U.S. as our No. 1 priority,” Michele Buck, Hershey CEO said.

Still, Hershey stressed it continues to support its international business, even if not the top priority. Sales for its global business increased in the second quarter 3.1 percent to $191.7 million. The segmented recorded $16.6 million in net income, up from $8.4 million in the previous year.

Hershey has also reached the top of Wall Street’s estimates for both quarterly sales and profit. Hershey also stated that it recorded impairment charges on both its Tyrrells and Shanghai Golden Monkey businesses during the quarter.