Cadbury CEO to stress benefit of Hershey deal over Kraft

Cadbury Plc Chief Executive Officer Todd Stitzer told investors that Hershey Co may get a bigger boost to earnings than Kraft Foods Inc by buying the UK confectioner, according to three people who heard the statement.

Stitzer, 57, said Hershey could expect higher earnings per share even though a Kraft deal would present more cost-cutting opportunities, the people said. He was responding to a question yesterday at a lunch presentation with investors at the New York Palace hotel in Manhattan, part of a campaign to fight a 10.4 billion-pound ($16.8 billion) bid from Kraft.

Cadbury, based in London, held merger talks with Hershey in 2002 and 2007. It hasn’t publicly discussed the financial implications of a new Hershey bid until now. Hershey, maker of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and Hershey’s Kisses, and Ferrero SpA said they are reviewing options for Cadbury, the maker of Dairy Milk chocolate and Trident gum.

Kraft said in September it expected to realize pretax cost savings of at least $625 million a year in the combination.