Mondelez plans to re-align its focus to superior growth

Snack food giant Mondelez International on Friday affirmed its earnings targets for the year and provided new forecasts for 2019 as new CEO Dirk Van de Put outlined the snack giant’s long-term strategy at its annual investor day.

The company expects revenue to grow 1 percent to 2 percent this year. It also plans to buy back approximately $2 billion in shares.

For next year, Mondelez anticipates revenue to rise by 2 percent to 3 percent and adjusted earnings per share to grow by 3 percent to 5 percent. The company is projecting approximately $2.8 billion in free cash flow.

Over the long term, Mondelez said, it’s targeting annual revenue growth of 3 percent or more, adjusted earnings per share in the “high-single” digits, free cash flow of $3 billion or more and dividend growth that outpaces adjusted earnings per share growth.

Its revenue forecasts are “organic,” meaning they exclude fluctuations in sales from acquisitions or divestitures.

Mondelez gave its financial targets as it unveiled a new tagline, “snacking made right.” The company said this builds on Mondelez’s promise to offer consumers “the right snack, for the right moment, made the right way.”