Weekly Food Industry Report: July 12, 2013

Every week, we take a look into some of the biggest financial news to emerge from the world of food. Here is this week's:

Yum Brands: Yum Foods suffered a 20% decrease in same-store sales in China due to the negative publicity from KFC, according to NRN. Yum's second quarter net income fell 15% from $331 million to $281 million, since last year. By the June 15 quarter closing, Yum's revenue decreased 8%. However, Yum executives are hopeful that the same-store sales will continue to improve and eventually turn positive by the end of this year. CEO David Novak believes new menu development and value strategies will improve the company's future earnings.

KFC: KFC is not only dragging down Yum's sales, but theirs as well. KFC's same-store sales in China have fallen 25%, more than offsetting a gain of 12% to competitor Pizza Hut, who has less than 1,000 China locations compared to KFC's 4,400, according to Nation's Restaurant News. The company attributes the sales decrease to the avian flu outbreak this year, and believes the remainder of the fiscal year will be positive.  

Vitafoods: Research and Markets announced that Vitafoods Europe has made an addition to their public offering. This update is a look back at the entire fiscal year of Vitafoods, providing overviews, reports, opinions of key issues affecting the sector, and a summary of the major products and future innovations.

Stark Naked Pesto: Research and Markets announced an addition to Stark Naked Pesto case study. They offer an understanding for the success and failure of new product launches and campaigns, outlining how Stark Naked Pesto became withdrawn from the market following legal issues on claims against the origin and freshness of their products.

Whole Foods Market: Research and Markets announced an addition to the Whole Foods Market company profile to their offering. It explains relevant consumer trends, innovation successes, and their under-performed brands to understand the company's fluctuation.

Penford: Penford Corporation reported their third quarter results for the fiscal year of 2013. Their third quarter revenue grew 9% to $28.5 million, gross margin rose 10% to $9.1 million and their operating income increased 16% to $6.2 million from revenue and volume gains.

B&G Foods: B&G Foods announced their completed acquisition of Robert's American Gourmet Foods (Pirate Brands), one of the leaders in the all-natural snack food category. B&G bought the company from VMG partners for $195 million in cash, and they expect the acquisition to be immediately accretive to earnings per share and free cash flow.

FoodLink: FoodLink reported an increase in customers that have selected the FoodLink PTI supply chain to track their fresh produce. FoodLink's tracking system offers faster and more efficient information about where food is grown and packaged through the complete supply chain, bringing visibility to consumers about the origin of their food.

SUPERVALU: SUPERVALU announced they would hold their first quarter conference call for the fiscal 2014 year on July 18. The call will be recorded on a live webcast online, and a replay of the call will be archived on SUPERVALU's website.

IMDEA Food: IMDEA Food announced their strategic collaboration with Metabon Inc. The agreement established the framework for future strategic projects aimed to create functional foods and diagnostic tools.

Retailer Owned Food Distributors Association: The Retailer Owned Food Distributor & Associates (ROFDA), showed their support for product safety by endorsing Recall InfoLink, who offers a patented, web-based product recall management that deals with all processing recalls. 

We're always on the lookout for tips about the week's financial news, so if you think there's any that we've missed, let us know!