The British confectionery and gum company Cadbury reported a 7% revenue growth in the third quarter of 2009. This strong performance is a problem for Kraft Foods which is trying to purchase Cadbury.

In addition, Cadbury expects that sales in 2009 will increase 5% (up from 4% expected earlier).

«We have great momentum in our business and our confectionery strategy continues to yield benefits beyond expectations. In the third quarter, we’ve delivered growth in every category and every business. The strength of our operating performance continues to underpin the board’s confidence in our growth prospects and the potential for creating further, material shareholder value as a pure play standalone confectionery business,» said Roger Carr, Cadbury chairman.

The company rejected £10.2bn cash and shares proposal made by Kraft in early September. Now Kraft has a deadline of  November 9 to make the another, but industrial analysts believe that it will wait for the announcement of its own third quarter earnings which will be posted on November 3.

via Foodbev.com