Kraft Heinz is hitting pause on its plan to split up the company

Kraft Heinz $KHC said Wednesday that it would pause work related to its previously announced separation plan to focus on returning to profitable growth, with the company's chief executive declaring that many of its challenges “are fixable and within our control.”

“When I decided to join Kraft Heinz, I knew that this was an exciting opportunity to contemporize iconic brands, better serve consumers and customers, and build meaningful shareholder value,” CEO Steve Cahillane, who took the reins last month, said in a statement accompanying the firm's fourth quarter earnings release. “Since joining the company, I have seen that the opportunity is larger than expected and that many of our challenges are fixable and within our control. My number one priority is returning the business to profitable growth, which will require ensuring all resources are fully focused on the execution of our operating plan. As a result, we believe it is prudent to pause work related to the separation and we will no longer incur related dis-synergies this year.”

Kraft Heinz said Wednesday that net sales for the full year decreased 3.5% to $24.9 billion, while fourth quarter net sales dropped 3.4% to $6.4 billion. The company reported a significant operating loss of $4.7 billion for the year, primarily due to non-cash impairment losses totaling $9.3 billion. The company on Wednesday also introduced a $600 million investment aimed at accelerating growth in its Taste Elevation portfolio and recovering its U.S. retail business.

The Chicago-based giant behind products like Heinz tomato ketchup announced last year that it would split into two separate businesses, a decade after the packaged food firms joined in a merger.

Kraft Heinz stock fell more than 7% in premarket trading Wednesday following the announcement that it would pause its separation plans.