A mixture of Hershey's chocolates is displayed in the company's Times Square store, March 1, 2017, in New York. Hershey is cautioning on its 2024 profit growth as the company contends with rising cocoa costs that are leading to higher prices for chocolate. Cocoa futures prices have doubled over the past year and hit an unprecedented $5,874 per metric ton Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, in intraday trading. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
Hershey is cautioning on its 2024 profit growth as the company contends with rising cocoa costs that are leading to higher prices for chocolate.
Cocoa futures prices have doubled over the past year and hit an all-time high of $5,874 per metric ton on Friday. Bad weather in West Africa is being blamed for damaging crop yields, which is pushing cocoa prices higher.
“The magnitude and pace of recent price increases seem to be unprecedented,” wrote Citi analyst Thomas Palmer.
With Valentine's Day coming up, chocolate is on the minds of many consumers. But with inflation concerns still top of mind, many shoppers are pulling back on their spending and eyeing rising food prices cautiously.
Still, Hershey CEO Michele Buck is trying to ease consumers' minds.
“Given where cocoa prices are, we will be using every tool in our toolbox, including pricing, as a way to manage the business,” Buck said during the company’s quarterly earnings conference call.
Hershey Co. anticipates its full-year earnings per share being relatively flat, partly due to higher cocoa and sugar costs.
Margins may also face some pressure.
“The confection business is going to bear the brunt of the margin impact due to cocoa,” Chief Financial Officer Steven Voskuil said on the call.
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
