Cadbury chocolates and Oreo cookies owner Mondelez (NASDAQ:MDLZ) provided investors with a treat on Friday after it lifted dividends and reported that organic sales grew by close to 16% in the second quarter.
Quarterly dividends will increase by 10%, with the food firm having already returned US$1.7bn to shareholders in the first six months of the financial year.
Adjusted earnings per share reached US$0.76, up year-on-year by 21.5% on a constant currency basis, the group revealed in a trading update.
Both EPS and revenue growth forecasts have been increased to a minimum of 12%, reflecting strong volume/mix in multiple regions and “category resilience”.
Mondelez chairman and chief executive officer Dirk Van de Put said: “Continuous reinvestment in our brands and capabilities, combined with ongoing price execution, cost discipline and strong volume/mix performance drove these results.
“We continue to drive robust consumer demand in our core categories across the vast majority of our businesses, and our teams continue to make significant progress against our portfolio reshaping initiatives.”
Adjusted gross profit fell, however, dropping by 50 basis points to 37.5%, caused by high transportation and raw material costs but offset by strong pricing and lower spending on manufacturing.
Shares in the US-listed food group are trading close to 3% higher in pre-market trading on Friday, having closed at around US$72.30.