Hershey's 3Q profit doubles on lower costs

HARRISBURG-Pennsylvania: Hershey, the second-largest US candymaker, says it doubled profit in the third quarter as major costs to restructure its operations subsided.

The Hershey Co. said Thursday it earned almost $125 million, or 54 cents a share, on revenue of nearly $1.5 billion for the three months ended September 28.

Discounting one-time charges of $31 million to streamline operations, Hershey met the 64 cents per share consensus estimate of Thomson Reuters. Sales rose more than 6 percent, partly due to a price increase in August.

However, the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania-based company says it continues to be squeezed by higher commodity costs as it ramps up promotional spending to revive last year's flat sales.