The Hershey Co. to close a factory

The Hershey Company said it will close a manufacturing plant in Puerto Rico and seek voluntary workforce reductions in an effort to streamline its business. "The changes are necessary for Hershey to remain competitive in the years ahead," said Richard Lenny, the company s chairman, president and CEO.
The chocolate maker reported consolidated net sales for the second quarter were $988m compared with $894m for the second quarter of 2004. Net income for the second quarter was $97m compared with $147m for the same period in 2004.
Results for the pervious second quarter include the benefit of a $61.1m non-cash reduction of income tax expense resulting from adjustments to income tax contingency reserves following the completion of prior years tax audits. Excluding this item, net income for the second quarter of 2004 was $86m.



For the first six months of 2005, consolidated net sales were $2.115bn, compared with $1,907bn for the first half of 2004. Net income for the first six months of 2005 was $216m, compared with $254m for the first half of the previous year.