Strong second quarter and Asian aspirations for Hershey

The Hershey Company has reported strong earnings in the second quarter of its 2011 fiscal year. The brand saw a net income of $130 million for the quarter, up from $117 million during the same quarter the year before. In addition, Q2 net sales rose 7.5% to $1.3 billion from last year’s $1.2 billion.

Hershey notes that this growth was driven by volume gains in both domestic and global markets, along with aggressive marketing and the development of new products.

Company CEO John Bilbery, says, “Year-to-date, our focused markets, including Mexico, China, Brazil, and India, are ahead of plan and forecast to grow a combined 20-25% in 2011. We plan to replicate our success in other geographies, especially in China, our fastest growing international market. As such, we’re in the process of determining the location, scope and size of an Asia R&D facility that will support our businesses in that region.”