(Reuters) - Velveeta cheese maker Kraft Heinz Co (O:KHC) topped quarterly profit and revenue estimates as the company raised prices of its products and posted higher-than-expected sales in the United States, sending its shares up 7 percent in premarket trading.
Sales in the United States, the company's biggest market, fell 1.9 percent to $4.51 billion in the second, but topped the average analyst estimate of $4.43 billion.
This is the company's first better-than-expected U.S. sales performance in at least five quarters.
Kraft Heinz raised prices of its packaged foods and condiments as rising input expenses, including higher transport and commodity costs, weighed on the company's margins.
"While cost inflation on many fronts has been holding back our bottom line, we expect our profitability to improve by year-end, with further momentum into 2019," Chief Executive Officer Bernardo Hees said in a statement.
Net income attributable to the company's shareholders fell to $756 million, or 62 cents per share, in the three months ended June 30, from $1.16 billion, or 94 cents per share, a year earlier.
Excluding items, the company earned $1 per share, beating analysts' estimate of 92 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
The company, which also houses brands such as Kool Aid and Tater Tots, said net sales rose 0.7 percent to $6.69 billion, topping average estimate of $6.59 billion.