Aug. 13--Record financial results for H.J. Heinz Co. would bring a smile to founder Henry John Heinz's face, Chief Executive Officer William R. Johnson said Wednesday.

"I believe the founder would have been proud of what we delivered last year," Johnson said, addressing more than 200 at the company's annual shareholders meeting in Westin Convention Center Hotel, Downtown.

Celebrating its 140th anniversary, Heinz the company is running on all cylinders -- despite a weak international economy, as well as wildly fluctuating prices for commodities used in its products and currencies used to buy and sell its products.

"I believe we have a great team of people and great brands, some we acquired and some were legacy brands," Johnson said after the meeting. "That's quite a combination."

Heinz shares closed yesterday at $38.16, up 6 cents.

The annual meeting took just 25 minutes -- including two non-confrontational comments from shareholders. All 12 board members were re-elected for another year.

The meeting's time and tenor were a significant change from three years ago, when Johnson and his board were in the middle of a heated proxy battle with a group of dissident shareholders, led by billionaire investor Nelson Peltz.

Peltz and fellow dissident Michael Weinstein were elected to the Heinz board. Since then, Heinz has sharpened its product focus; dumped non-core operations; shut factories; and spent more money marketing its consumer-favorite sauces, ketchup, meals, snacks and infant products.

For the year ended April 29, Heinz set records for sales of more than $10.1 billion, for profit at $923 million -- up 9.2 percent in one year -- and for earnings per share at $2.90 -- up 10.3 percent in a year.

"We're an anomaly," Johnson said of his company's stellar results.

He reiterated projections for the new fiscal year, which began April 30 -- sales growth, between 4 percent and 6 percent; growth in operating income, between 6 percent and 8 percent; and earnings-per-share growth, between 5 percent and 8 percent.

"We expect emerging markets to contribute disproportionately to our long-term growth and anticipate that they could generate as much as 20 percent of our total sales by fiscal year 2013, compared with 14 percent in fiscal 2009, and just 11 percent three years ago," Johnson told shareholders.

Peltz -- who operates companies that own stakes in Cadbury, Dr. Pepper, Tiffany, Kraft, Wendy's and Arby's, in addition to Heinz -- didn't hesitate when asked if he had expected Heinz to be performing so well three years after the proxy battle he directed against Johnson and his team.

"Yes," said a laughing Peltz.

Rick Stouffer can be reached via e-mail or at 412-320-7853.

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