Slow start for Mondelez

Article Excerpt

MONDELEZ INTERNATIONAL INC. $27 (Nasdaq symbol MDLZ; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 1.8 billion; Market cap: $48.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.0; Dividend yield: 1.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.mondelezinternational.com) makes cookies and biscuits (Oreo, Chips Ahoy and Ritz); chocolate bars (Cadbury, Toblerone) and gum and candy (Trident, Chiclets and Halls cough drops). On October 1, 2012, the old Kraft Foods broke itself into two publicly traded companies: Mondelez and Kraft Foods Group (Nasdaq symbol KRFT). In its first quarter as a separate company, which ended December 31, 2012, Mondelez’s revenue fell 1.9%, to $9.5 billion from $9.7 billion a year earlier. If you disregard currency exchange rates and businesses the company sold, revenue would have risen 3.7%, mainly due to stronger sales in developing markets. That offset lower gum sales. Before unusual items, earnings fell 7.7%, to $0.36 a share from $0.39. Mondelez is a hold. hold…