I'm not sure why the quarterly earnings reports from Hershey are more blogworthy than others. Maybe it's because I like chocolate, so the very name Hershey always makes me smile. But Hershey shareholders have plenty to smile about today, too. That's because the company reported higher earnings today and projected that 2012 will keep kids and customers (and their dentists) smiling with even better results.

The roots of Hershey's current success go back a few years. The company made a few acquisitions to broaden their confectionary product lines, and transformed their supply chain to get their products to market more efficiently. With cash dividends to shareholders raised 9 out of the last ten years (including a 10% increase announced today) that makes for a sweet time all around.

GTC

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