Hershey Results Far From Sweet

Hershey's(HSY Quote) third-quarter profit slid 66% as the candy maker was slammed by a triple whammy of charges, lower sales and rising costs.

The weak performance, as well as projections for more troubles in the fourth quarter, led the company to cut its earnings forecast for the full year.

Hershey posted third-quarter earnings of $62.8 million, or 27 cents a share, down from $185.1 million, or 78 cents a share, a year earlier.

The results included a pretax charge of $151.9 million, or 41 cents a share, tied to Hershey's ongoing restructuring plans. Excluding the charge, earnings were $157.2 million, or 68 cents a share, about 15% below the comparable year-ago figures. ...