Wednesday January 13, 2010

Cadbury Issues Defense Response

London — Outlining its future growth potential and reasons to reject the $16.2 billion bid from Kraft Foods, Inc., Cadbury plc says its 2009 performance was “outstanding” and should remain independent.

“The Board has unanimously rejected Kraft’s wholly inadequate offer and continues to recommend shareholders take no action in relation to it,” reads the response statement the company published.

Cadbury lists highlights of its 2009 financials, including five percent revenue growth, a trading margin of 13.5 percent, and full-year dividend growth of 10 percent.

CEO Todd Stitzer says: “Our performance in 2009 was outstanding. We generated good revenue growth despite the weakest economic conditions in 80 years. Looking to 2010, we are targeting revenue growth within our five to seven percent goal range, led by new product innovations across our categories and supported by incremental investment in marketing.”

The statement further iterated Cadbury’s commitment “to maximize shareholder value and, against the background of the Kraft bid, believes that this is best achieved through the strong continuing performance of an independent Cadbury.”