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Hershey results don't satisfy
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April 24, 1998: 1:31 p.m. ET
Stock drops as candy company posts earnings gain but misses mark
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Confectionery powerhouse Hershey Foods Corp. announced Friday that increased Easter holiday sales had given the company a sweet first-quarter earnings boost, but investors were still left wanting more.
Hershey posted earnings of $75.4 million, 52 cents per diluted share, in the quarter ending April 5, up from $68.9 million, or 45 cents per share, a year ago.
However, Wall Street had hoped for slightly better results of 53 cents per share, according to the consensus estimate compiled by First Call.
Hershey stock (HSY) dropped 2 points to trade at 68-11/16 after the announcement [click here for a chart of Hershey stock movements in the past year].
Revenues for the quarter rose to $1.1 billion from $1.0 billion a year ago.
Hershey Chairman and CEO Kenneth Wolfe said that he was "very pleased" with sales growth in the grocery and U.S. chocolate units, but the slowdown in Asian economies hurt the international chocolate unit.
"Results for Hershey International were short of expectations as a result of lower sales and earnings in the Far East," he said.
Wolfe cited increased Easter confectionery sales and an array of new candy and pasta products for the U.S. unit's higher sales figures. 
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Hershey Foods
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