Kraft Spinoff Mondelez Hits the Market
Mondelez International has completed its spinoff of successful food manufacturer Kraft Foods and officially began trading on Tuesday.
In an attempt to increase sales, Mondelez began distributing all outstanding shares of the Kraft Food Group common stock, including Cadbury chocolate, Toblerone and LU biscuits.
With these brands, Mondelez hopes to also increase earnings per share in the double-digit percentage range by acting as Kraft's chocolate and confectionary arm.
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"We are not recession proof, but we are recession advantages given the strength of our brands," Tom Cofer, the European president of the business explained to the Wall Street Journal.
Concurrent with the spin off, Kraft Foods changed its name to Mondelez International.
Mondelez is a world leader in chocolate, biscuits, gum, candy and powdered beverages, and now includes the global snacking and food brands of the former Kraft Foods Inc.
"Snacking is a behavior that is growing, and we have a strong leadership position in this area," Cofer told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" on Tuesday.
"Snacking categories are growing much faster than non-snacking businesses, and it's a great position to be in," said Mondelez's president.
Cofer noted that origination of the Switzerland-based company's name, explaining that "mond" came from the Latin word for world, and "delez" means delicious.
"It's a compelling growth story and we have everything it takes to win even in this challenging environment," Cofer concluded.
Despite Cofer's confidence in the spinoff, the Wall Street Journal pointed out that consumer's growing concerns about obesity might harm sales of chocolate and biscuits, especially in Europe- Mondelez's biggest market.
The food manufacturer's other brands include Milka chocolate, Jacobs coffee, Nabisco and Oreo biscuits, Tang, and Trident gum. Mondelez International has annual revenue of approximately $36 billion and operates in over 80 countries.
