Kraft Foods Inc reported a better-than-expected first-quarter profit on Thursday, helped by price increases and cost savings.

The maker of Cadbury chocolate, Oreo cookies and Philadelphia cream cheese said net income fell to $802 million, or 45 cents per share, from $1.88 billion, or $1.16 per share, a year earlier when profit was boosted by a gain on the sale of discontinued operations.

Excluding items, earnings were 52 cents per share, beating the average analyst forecast of 47 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Net revenue rose 11 percent to $12.6 billion. Excluding the impact of acquisitions, net revenue rose 4.6 percent as higher prices helped offset the impact of lost sales because of a later Easter holiday this year.

Kraft expects organic net revenue growth of at least 4 percent this year, excluding the impact of calendar changes. It expects a profit, excluding items, of at least $2.20 a share.

Kraft shares rose to $33.45 in after-hours trading from their close at $33.39 on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Martinne Geller. Editing by Robert MacMillan)

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