52-Week High $70.15 52-Week Low $41.56 Price/Earnings Ratio 26.64 Dividend Yield 1.62% Debt to total Capitalization $ 9.46B Return on Equity 28.50% Year2000 2001E Earnings Per Share 1st Qtr. 0.48 0.55 2nd Qtr. 0.29 0.38 3rd Qtr. 0.78 0.87 4th Qtr. 0.84 0.95 Total 2.39 2.75SummaryHershey Foods Corporation and its subsidiaries are engaged in the manufacture, distribution and sale of consumer food products. The Company's principal product groups include chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery products sold in the form of bar goods, bagged items, boxed items, and grocery products in the form of baking ingredients, chocolate drink mixes, peanut butter, dessert toppings and beverages. Some examples of their well known products include, Almond Joy, and Mounds candy bars, Cadbury Creme Eggs, Hershey's Cookies 'n' Creme candy bar, Hershey's milk chocolate and milk chocolate with almonds bars, Hershey's Kisses and Hershey's Hugs chocolates, Jolly Rancher candy, Kit Kat wafer bar, Milk Duds candy, PayDay peanut caramel bar, and Reese's crunchy cookie cups. Internationally, the company exports Hershey's branded confectionery and grocery products to over 90 countries worldwide. Industry OverviewThe Hershey Food Corporation has a variety of international operations and exports Hershey's branded products to over 90 countries worldwide. Operations of Hershey Foods Corporation are concentrated in two divisions, Hershey Chocolate North America, which has 17 plants located throughout the U.S. with over 14,000 employees, and Hershey International. Net sales for this corporation are most impressive. Net sales increased $250.1 million, or 6%, from 1999 to 2000. The higher sales primarily reflected an increase in sales of core confectionery and grocery products in North America, incr...
