Kraft Foods saw its shares lose ground in after-hours trading on Tuesday, as its third-quarter results failed to deliver a boost that could increase the attractiveness of its cash-and-shares offer for Cadbury, the UK confectioner.

Shares in the largest US food company fell more than 3 per cent in after-hours trading in New York, to $26.90, taking Kraft’s stock down to levels seen after it unveiled its $16.7bn approach to Cadbury in early September.