Strong brands give these foodmakers an edge

Article Excerpt

These two foodmakers continue to raise their selling prices to offset rising costs for ingredients, fuel, labour and other inputs. Even so, consumers seem willing to stick with their strong brands, which they see as affordable luxuries, instead of switching to cheaper products. Both firms also continue to strengthen their balance sheets. MONDELEZ INTERNATIONAL INC. $74 is a buy. The company (Nasdaq symbol MDLZ; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 1.4 billion; Market cap: $103.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.1; Dividend yield: 2.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.mondelezinternational.com) mainly makes snack foods such as cookies, chocolate bars and gum. Its brands include Chips Ahoy cookies, Ritz crackers, Halls cough drops, Philadelphia Cream Cheese, Tang instant beverages and Clorets gum. Mondelez is shifting its focus to its main chocolate, biscuit and baked snacks products. By 2030, the company expects to derive 90% of its revenue from these three categories, up from about 80% currently. As part of that plan, Mondelez has agreed to sell its chewing gum…