Hershey: sales and profit growth in the third quarter

According to the company, price realization was a 2.9 point benefit and volume growth was a 0.9 point benefit, both driven by strength in the North America segment. The net impact of acquisitions and divestitures was a 0.8 point benefit driven by the acquisition of One Brands. Foreign currency exchange was a 0.6 point headwind.

Third-quarter 2020 reported operating profit of USD 611.4 m increased 32.7% versus the third quarter of 2019, resulting in an operating profit margin of 27.5%, an increase of 590 basis points. This increase was driven by higher gross profit due to the previously mentioned higher derivative mark-to-market commodity gain in the current period. Adjusted operating profit of USD 543.3 m increased 13.9% versus the third quarter of 2019. This resulted in an adjusted operating profit margin of 24.5%, an increase of 220 basis points versus the third quarter of 2019 driven by strong price realization in the North America segment and corporate and operational cost management.