Meanwhile Kraft Foods, Northfield, Ill., says restructuring costs related to plant closure were at the heart of a 33% drop in first quarter profits for 2004. Friendly Ice Cream Corp.,Wilbram, Mass., reported a net loss for the three-months-ended March 28 of $5.1 million.

Comparable restaurant sales for Friendly increased 4.2% for company-operated restaurants and 6.5% for franchise restaurants

Land O'Lakes reported net sales of $2.01 billion and net earnings of $46.5 million for the quarter, as compared to sales of $1.45 billion and a net loss of $0.4 million for the first quarter of 2003. Company officials noted that $175 million of the sales increase results from the consolidation of MoArk sales (layers/eggs) into Land O'Lakes financials.