Kraft Heinz Reports Third Quarter 2023 Results

Announces Leadership and Organizational Changes

Narrows Full Year Outlook for Organic Net Sales⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾

Raises Full Year Outlook for Constant Currency Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EPS⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾

Third Quarter Highlights

• Net sales increased 1.0%; Organic Net Sales⁽¹⁾ increased 1.7%
• Gross profit margin increased 568 basis points to 34.0%; Adjusted Gross Profit Margin⁽¹⁾ increased 396 basis points to 34.0%
• Net income decreased 41.7%; Adjusted EBITDA⁽¹⁾ increased 11.9%
• Diluted EPS was $0.21, down 40.0%; Adjusted EPS⁽¹⁾ was $0.72, up 14.3%
• Reached target Net Leverage⁽¹⁾ ratio of approximately 3.0x, with Net Leverage at 2.9x

The Kraft Heinz Company (Nasdaq: KHC) (“Kraft Heinz” or the “Company”) today reported financial results for the third quarter of 2023.

“Our third quarter results were marked by net sales growth across each of our three core pillars: Foodservice, Emerging Markets, and U.S. Retail Grow Platforms,” said Kraft Heinz CEO and Chair of the Board Miguel Patricio. “At the same time, we continue to improve productivity across the value chain, reinvesting gross efficiencies back into marketing, technology, and research & development. These investments remain a key part of our strategy as we build the business for continued success.”

“We laid out a series of action plans in the beginning of the year to drive market share and volume improvement, and I’m pleased to say we saw improvement throughout the quarter as our team executed against these plans. We will remain focused on our overall strategy to drive top-line profitable growth.”

In the third quarter, Kraft Heinz hit a milestone in its transformation - reaching its target Net Leverage of approximately 3.0x. “A stronger balance sheet, along with advancements we have made across the business, gives us further conviction behind our strategy,” said Patricio.

Q3 2023 Financial Summary

• Net sales increased 1.0 percent versus the year-ago period to $6.6 billion, including a negative 0.5 percentage point impact from foreign currency and a negative 0.2 percentage point impact from divestitures. Organic Net Sales⁽¹⁾ increased 1.7 percent versus the prior year period. Price increased 7.1 percentage points versus the prior year period, with increases in both reportable segments that were primarily driven by list price increases taken to mitigate higher input costs. Volume/mix declined 5.4 percentage points versus the prior year period, with declines in both reportable segments that were primarily driven by elasticity impacts from pricing actions.

• Net income/(loss) decreased 41.7 percent versus the year-ago period to $254 million, primarily driven by higher non-cash impairment losses in the current year period and higher tax expenses in the current year period. These factors were partially offset by higher Adjusted EBITDA versus the prior year period and unrealized gains on commodity hedges in the current year period compared to unrealized losses on commodity hedges in the prior year period. Adjusted EBITDA⁽¹⁾ increased 11.9 percent versus the year-ago period to $1.6 billion, primarily driven by higher pricing and efficiency gains. These factors more than offset higher supply chain costs (reflecting inflationary pressure in manufacturing and procurement costs), unfavorable volume/mix, investments in marketing, technology, and research and development, increased commodity costs (including the impact of realized gains and losses on commodity hedges), and an unfavorable impact from foreign currency (1.0 pp).

• Diluted EPS was $0.21, down 40.0 percent versus the prior year period, primarily driven by the net income/(loss) factors discussed above. Adjusted EPS⁽¹⁾ was $0.72, up 14.3 percent versus the prior year period, primarily driven by higher Adjusted EBITDA and favorable changes in other expense/(income). These factors more than offset higher taxes on adjusted earnings.

• Year-to-date net cash provided by operating activities was $2.6 billion, up 72.8 percent versus the year-ago period. This was driven by lower cash outflows for inventories primarily related to stock rebuilding in the prior year, higher Adjusted EBITDA in the current period, and lower cash outflows for tax payments driven by taxes paid in 2022 related to the sale of certain assets in our global cheese business and the licensing of certain trademarks. These impacts were partially offset by unfavorable changes in accounts payable, due in part to lower inventory purchase volume in the current period compared to the prior year period, and cash payments associated with the settlement of the consolidated securities class action lawsuit. Year-to date Free Cash Flow⁽¹⁾ was $1.8 billion, up 108.2 percent versus the prior year period, driven by the same net cash provided by operating activities as discussed above. This more than offset an increase in capital expenditures in the current year.

Leadership and Organizational Changes

As part of its mission to accelerate profitable growth and to lead the future of food, the Company has named its new President of the North America Zone, elevated key roles to a global level, and restructured its International Zone. These changes preserve the Company’s local agility while leveraging support, expertise, and resources from its scale.

First, Pedro Navio has been named EVP & President, North America, and will succeed Carlos Abrams-Rivera who, as previously announced, will serve as the Kraft Heinz CEO. Navio has been with Kraft Heinz since 2017, and is currently President, Taste, Meals, and Away From Home, in North America. Prior to Kraft Heinz, Navio spent more than 15 years at Red Bull, most recently as CEO of Latin America.

Second, the Company is establishing global leadership teams for its Growth and Omnichannel functions. Investing in these disciplines on a global level provides the structure and support to leverage centralized expertise and resources. It also helps drive growth and disruptive innovation across the business while optimally servicing customers and consumers.

Lastly, to further drive international growth, the Company is dividing its international business into three zones. Recognizing these markets require different sets of strategies and skills, the new structure provides the necessary focus and resources to optimize growth potential.

• Europe and Pacific Developed Markets, which will include Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and South Korea.

• West and East Emerging Markets, which will include LATAM, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East.

• Asia Emerging Markets, which will include its Asia businesses outside of Japan and South Korea.

In conjunction with these changes to the International Zone, Rafael Oliveira, current President, International Markets, will take on an advisory role to support the new structure transition and will depart the Company in March of 2024. “Rafael has been with Kraft Heinz since 2014 in several top leadership roles and has been a critical part of our transformation,” said Patricio. “We are forever grateful for the immeasurable business and culture impact that he has made on the Company and its people.”

“We are proud that all these appointments are internal elevations and reflect the quality of the talent and focus on people development here at Kraft Heinz,” said Abrams-Rivera. “We see the value of investing in the right structure to support our growth plans, and I am confident that these are the leaders to take Kraft Heinz to the next level.”

All changes will be effective at the beginning of fiscal year 2024.

Outlook

For fiscal year 2023, the Company expects:

• Organic Net Sales⁽²⁾ growth of 4 to 6 percent versus the prior year, closer to the lower end of the range at approximately 4%.

• Constant Currency Adjusted EBITDA⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾ growth of 5 to 7 percent versus the prior year, or 7 to 9 percent when excluding the impact from lapping a 53rd week in 2022. This compares to the previous expectation of 4 to 6 percent Constant Currency Adjusted EBITDA growth. Adjusted Gross Profit Margin⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾ expansion is expected to contribute to Constant Currency Adjusted EBITDA growth. The Company now expects Adjusted Gross Profit Margin expansion of 200 to 250 basis points versus the prior year, compared to the previous expectation of 150 to 200 basis points versus the prior year. The current expectation for Adjusted Gross Profit Margin now reflects mid-single-digit inflation for the full year, as compared to the previous expectation of mid-to-high single-digit inflation for the full year, with pricing and efficiencies continuing to contribute to Adjusted Gross Profit Margin recovery.

• Adjusted EPS⁽²⁾ to be in the range of $2.91 to $2.99, compared to the previous range of $2.83 to $2.91. The current range includes a negative impact of approximately $0.03 from expected unfavorable changes in non-cash pension and post-retirement benefits and a currency headwind of approximately $0.04 at current foreign exchange rates. The expected 2023 year-over-year Adjusted EPS change reflects a negative $0.06 impact from lapping a 53rd week in 2022. Additionally, the Company now expects an effective tax rate on Adjusted EPS to be in the range of 19 to 20 percent.

End Notes

Earnings Discussion and Webcast Information

A pre-recorded management discussion of The Kraft Heinz Company's third quarter 2023 earnings is available at ir.kraftheinzcompany.com. The Company will host a live question-and-answer session beginning today at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. A webcast of the session will be accessible at ir.kraftheinzcompany.com.

ABOUT THE KRAFT HEINZ COMPANY

We are driving transformation at The Kraft Heinz Company (Nasdaq: KHC), inspired by our Purpose, Let’s Make Life Delicious. Consumers are at the center of everything we do. With 2022 net sales of approximately $26 billion, we are committed to growing our iconic and emerging food and beverage brands on a global scale. We leverage our scale and agility to unleash the full power of Kraft Heinz across a portfolio of six consumer-driven product platforms. As global citizens, we’re dedicated to making a sustainable, ethical impact while helping feed the world in healthy, responsible ways. Learn more about our journey by visiting www.kraftheinzcompany.com or following us on LinkedIn.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains a number of forward-looking statements. Words such as “accelerate,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “build”, “commit,” “continue,” “expect,” “execute,” “invest,” “maintain,” “reflect,” “will,” “guidance,” and “outlook,” and variations of such words and similar future or conditional expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Examples of forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the Company's plans, impacts of accounting standards and guidance, growth, legal matters, taxes, costs and cost savings, impairments, dividends, expectations, investments, innovations, opportunities, capabilities, execution, initiatives, and pipeline. These forward-looking statements reflect management's current expectations and are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and beyond the Company's control.

Important factors that may affect the Company's business and operations and that may cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, operating in a highly competitive industry; the Company’s ability to correctly predict, identify, and interpret changes in consumer preferences and demand, to offer new products to meet those changes, and to respond to competitive innovation; changes in the retail landscape or the loss of key retail customers; changes in the Company's relationships with significant customers or suppliers, or in other business relationships; the Company’s ability to maintain, extend, and expand its reputation and brand image; the Company’s ability to leverage its brand value to compete against private label products; the Company’s ability to drive revenue growth in its key product categories or platforms, increase its market share, or add products that are in faster-growing and more profitable categories; product recalls or other product liability claims; climate change and legal or regulatory responses; the Company’s ability to identify, complete, or realize the benefits from strategic acquisitions, divestitures, alliances, joint ventures, or investments; the Company's ability to successfully execute its strategic initiatives; the impacts of the Company's international operations; the Company's ability to protect intellectual property rights; the Company’s ability to realize the anticipated benefits from prior or future streamlining actions to reduce fixed costs, simplify or improve processes, and improve its competitiveness; the influence of the Company's largest stockholder; the Company's level of indebtedness, as well as our ability to comply with covenants under our debt instruments; additional impairments of the carrying amounts of goodwill or other indefinite-lived intangible assets; foreign exchange rate fluctuations; volatility in commodity, energy, and other input costs; volatility in the market value of all or a portion of the commodity derivatives we use; compliance with laws and regulations and related legal claims or regulatory enforcement actions; failure to maintain an effective system of internal controls; a downgrade in the Company's credit rating; the impact of sales of the Company's common stock in the public market; the Company’s ability to continue to pay a regular dividend and the amounts of any such dividends; disruptions in the global economy caused by geopolitical conflicts, including the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine; unanticipated business disruptions and natural events in the locations in which the Company or the Company's customers, suppliers, distributors, or regulators operate; economic and political conditions in the United States and in various other nations where the Company does business (including inflationary pressures, instability in financial institutions, general economic slowdown, recession, or a potential U.S. federal government shutdown); changes in the Company's management team or other key personnel and the Company's ability to hire or retain key personnel or a highly skilled and diverse global workforce; our dependence on information technology and systems, including service interruptions, misappropriation of data, or breaches of security; increased pension, labor, and people-related expenses; changes in tax laws and interpretations and the final determination of tax audits, including transfer pricing matters, and any related litigation; volatility of capital markets and other macroeconomic factors; and other factors. For additional information on these and other factors that could affect the Company's forward-looking statements, see the Company's risk factors, as they may be amended from time to time, set forth in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company disclaims and does not undertake any obligation to update, revise, or withdraw any forward-looking statement in this press release, except as required by applicable law or regulation.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The non-GAAP financial measures provided in this press release should be viewed in addition to, and not as an alternative for, results prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”).

To supplement the financial information provided, the Company has presented Organic Net Sales, Adjusted EBITDA, Constant Currency Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Gross Profit, Adjusted Gross Profit Margin, Adjusted Net Income/(Loss), Adjusted EPS, Free Cash Flow, and Net Leverage which are considered non-GAAP financial measures. The non-GAAP financial measures presented may differ from similarly titled non-GAAP financial measures presented by other companies, and other companies may not define these non-GAAP financial measures in the same way. These measures are not substitutes for their comparable GAAP financial measures, such as net sales, net income/(loss), gross profit, diluted earnings per share (“EPS”), net cash provided by/(used for) operating activities, or other measures prescribed by GAAP, and there are limitations to using non-GAAP financial measures.

Management uses these non-GAAP financial measures to assist in comparing the Company’s performance on a consistent basis for purposes of business decision making by removing the impact of certain items that management believes do not directly reflect the Company’s underlying operations. The Company believes:

• Organic Net Sales, Adjusted EBITDA, Constant Currency Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Gross Profit, Adjusted Gross Profit Margin, Adjusted Net Income/(Loss), and Adjusted EPS provide important comparability of underlying operating results, allowing investors and management to assess the Company’s operating performance on a consistent basis; and

• Free Cash Flow and Net Leverage provide measures of the Company’s core operating performance, the cash-generating capabilities of the Company’s business operations, and are factors used in determining the Company’s borrowing capacity and the amount of cash available for debt repayments, dividends, acquisitions, share repurchases, and other corporate purposes.

Management believes that presenting the Company’s non-GAAP financial measures is useful to investors because it (i) provides investors with meaningful supplemental information regarding financial performance by excluding certain items, (ii) permits investors to view performance using the same tools that management uses to budget, make operating and strategic decisions, and evaluate historical performance, and (iii) otherwise provides supplemental information that may be useful to investors in evaluating the Company’s results. The Company believes that the presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures, when considered together with the corresponding GAAP financial measures and the reconciliations to those measures, provides investors with additional understanding of the factors and trends affecting the Company’s business than could be obtained absent these disclosures.

Definitions

Organic Net Sales is defined as net sales excluding, when they occur, the impact of currency, acquisitions and divestitures, and a 53rd week of shipments. The Company calculates the impact of currency on net sales by holding exchange rates constant at the previous year's exchange rate, with the exception of highly inflationary subsidiaries, for which the Company calculates the previous year's results using the current year's exchange rate.

Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income/(loss) from continuing operations before interest expense, other expense/(income), provision for/(benefit from) income taxes, and depreciation and amortization (excluding restructuring activities); in addition to these adjustments, the Company excludes, when they occur, the impacts of divestiture-related license income, restructuring activities, deal costs, unrealized losses/(gains) on commodity hedges, impairment losses, certain non-ordinary course legal and regulatory matters, and equity award compensation expense (excluding restructuring activities). The Company also presents Adjusted EBITDA on a constant currency basis (Constant Currency Adjusted EBITDA). The Company calculates the impact of currency on Adjusted EBITDA by holding exchange rates constant at the previous year's exchange rate, with the exception of highly inflationary subsidiaries, for which it calculates the previous year's results using the current year's exchange rate.

Adjusted Gross Profit, Adjusted Net Income/(Loss), and Adjusted EPS are defined as gross profit, net income/(loss), and diluted earnings per share, respectively, excluding, when they occur, the impacts of restructuring activities, deal costs, unrealized losses/(gains) on commodity hedges, impairment losses, certain non-ordinary course legal and regulatory matters, losses/(gains) on the sale of a business, other losses/(gains) related to acquisitions and divestitures (e.g., tax and hedging impacts), nonmonetary currency devaluation (e.g., remeasurement gains and losses), debt prepayment and extinguishment (benefit)/costs, and certain significant discrete income tax items (e.g., U.S. and non-U.S. tax reform), and including when they occur, adjustments to reflect preferred stock dividend payments on an accrual basis. Adjusted Gross Profit Margin is defined as Adjusted Gross Profit divided by net sales.

Net Leverage is defined as debt less cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments divided by Adjusted EBITDA.

Free Cash Flow is defined as net cash provided by/(used for) operating activities less capital expenditures. The use of this non-GAAP measure does not imply or represent the residual cash flow for discretionary expenditures since the Company has certain non-discretionary obligations such as debt service that are not deducted from the measure.