By Kimberly Chin


Kraft Heinz Co. swung to a loss in the fourth quarter after the food maker booked a $1.3 billion non-cash impairment charge related to the Kraft brand.

The company posted a net loss attributable to shareholders of $257 million, compared with a profit of $1.03 billion in the same period a year earlier. Losses were 21 cents a share, compared with earnings of 84 cents a share in the prior year.

Kraft said the decrease in its bottom line was mostly due to the impairment charge following the closing of the sale of some of its assets in its cheese businesses as well as the granting of licenses for its Kraft and Velveeta brands and its Philadelphia brand.

Adjusted earnings were 79 cents a share. Analysts polled by FactSet were expecting 63 cents a share.

Net sales slipped to $6.71 billion from $6.94 billion in the year-earlier quarter. Analysts were looking for $6.6 billion.


Write to Kimberly Chin at kimberly.chin@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

02-16-22 0735ET