Kraft Heinz (KHC) increased sales for the first time since the $100bn merger to create US food giant in 2015.

Revenues in the third quarter nudged up 0.7% to $6.3bn (£4.8bn), driven by currency fluctuations and 0.3% of organic growth.

The cost-cutting model of owner 3G Capital helped lift net income by 12.1% to $944m (£712m), with operating profits up 17.6% to $1.7bn (£1.3bn).

However, investors were unmoved by the weak growth as CEO Bernardo Hees warned of a continued challenging environment in its domestic US market.

Shares in the stock fell in after-hours trading last night and slumped more than 2% as markets in New York opened today. Kraft Heinz has since recovered some of the losses and is currently down 0.8% to $77.06

Revenues in Europe jumped 7.3% to $599m (£451.7m) thanks to 3.9% lift from currency headwinds and 3.4% organic increase. Canada was also up 1.6% to $559m and the rest of the world logged a 1.6% rise to $776m, with sales still down 0.4% in the core domestic market of the US.

“We continued to build top- and bottom-line momentum from operations during the third quarter, and expect to see the same in the fourth quarter,” CEO Bernardo Hees said.

“There’s no question that the retail environment, particularly in the United States, will remain both dynamic and challenging.

“However, the investments we’ve been making in our brands, our innovation pipeline, our people and our capabilities make us well-positioned to continue delivering sustainable, profitable growth in both the near and long term.”

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