Kraft Heinz has hailed “better-than-expected” third-quarter results despite its sales tumbling since last year.

The Chicago-based ketchup king saw revenues jump across Canada and international markets, but a fall in the US dragged the overall figure down to -1.8 per cent.

Gross profit dropped by around £300 million, or 13.5 per cent, to a little over $2 billion.

However, given last year’s Covid-fuelled surge in demand, this was enough to push EBITDA — earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation – up by $100 million to $6.2 billion.

READ MORE: Kraft Heinz to invest £140m into UK manufacturing

Like Nestlé, Kraft Heinz has made “inflation-justified” price increases of 1.5 per cent in the face of soaring labour, packaging and materials costs.

Earlier this month, it admitted to “raising prices, where necessary, around the world”. 

Chief executive Miguel Patricio hailed the “better-than-expected” results, set against the “ongoing challenges of the pandemic” and “escalating inflation”.

He added: “We are effectively adapting to near-term challenges while transforming our business and rejuvenating our iconic brands to better serve consumers for the long term. 

“We still have much to do, but our momentum is strong and our strategy to bring agility to our scale is working.”

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