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EARNINGS
NEW YORK (AP) -- A boost from Pringles and strong international results helped Kellogg's fourth-quarter earnings surpass expectations.
Kellogg's, known for breakfast food such as Froot Loops, Eggo waffles and Pop Tarts, has been seeking to improve its results by investing in its supply chain after several product recalls and by expanding its salty snacks business.
It acquired Pringles from Procter & Gamble in February 2012. The brand provided a boost in the fourth quarter, with Pringles revenue up 5 percent in the U.S. and 1 percent in Europe.
The company also changed its accounting method for pensions, and related one-time adjustments led to a loss of $32 million, or 9 cents per share, for the period. That compares with a loss of $195 million, or 54 cents per share, for the prior year's revised results.
Not including one-time items related to its pension adjustments and the Pringles acquisition, the company said underlying earnings were 67 cents per share.
Revenue rose 18 percent to $3.56 billion, from $3.02 billion in the prior year.
In North America, the company's net sales rose 12 percent in the quarter, or 5.5 percent for existing products, with the breakfast foods and Kashi segment rising by 6 percent.
For the year, net income rose 11 percent to $961 million, or $2.67 per share. That compares with $866 million, or $2.38, in the prior year. Revenue rose nearly 8 percent to $14.2 billion from $13.2 billion in 2011.
Kellogg has a plant on State Road.
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LONDON (AP) -- U.K. pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline is looking to cut costs further this year as it reported a sharp drop in fourth-quarter profit on the back of problems in Europe.
The company says Wednesday it made a net profit of 839 million pounds ($1.31 billion) in the final three months of 2012, down nearly 35 percent from the previous year. Over the year it made a profit of 4.74 billion pounds against 2011's 5.46 billion pounds.
Glaxo blamed the tough European environment for a 3 percent drop in sales 2012 and said the impact of discounted prices dented growth by around 6 percentage points.
GlaxoSmithKline operates the former Wyeth complex near Marietta.
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