Reuben Mark Despite Quotations

Good growth, together with strong margin improvement in every division, drove us to another record in both dollar profit and profitability, ... Every geographic area met or exceeded our volume expectations despite economic problems in some areas of the developing world.

We are pleased that our strong top-line momentum continued this quarter across all operating divisions and on top of the outstanding growth achieved in the year ago period. We are especially encouraged that global pricing was positive for the first time in two years, despite difficult cost and competitive environments.

Every operating division achieved strong volume growth and increased operating profits both absolutely and as a percent to sales, ... It is especially encouraging to see dollar operating profits rise strongly even in Latin America and Europe despite currency pressures.

Despite sharply rising energy costs, we expect our gross profit margin, before restructuring charges, to be up nicely for the year as a result of our ongoing cost-savings initiatives, improved pricing, restructuring and promotional savings.