Barry Callebaut has reported its financial performance for the most recent period. Sales volume increased in the nine months by 15.8%, driven by the cocoa business the company acquired from Petra Foods. On a like-for-like basis, volumes increased by 2.4%, in line with the overall chocolate market.
The company noted that its strategic investments are paying off. Volume growth in emerging markets was 63% (18.2% like-for-like), and Gourmet volumes were up 6.0%.
“I am satisfied with our third-quarter volume growth which was driven by the acquired cocoa business, emerging markets and our Gourmet business,” said Juergen Steinemann, CEO of Barry Callebaut. “As we continued to focus on increasing our product margins, we concentrated on selective growth in developed markets. While the cocoa powder market remains challenging, we are very satisfied with the integration of the acquired cocoa business.”
In its industrial business, Barry Callebaut said that it continued to focus on increasing product margins and being more selective in sales: overall volume growth was 1.8%. The Gourmet business outperformed the markets in most countries, supported by a double-digit growth of the company’s global brands Callebaut and Cacao Barry.
Sales revenue was up 22.0% to CHF 4,318.7 million for the total business. Compared to the prior year, higher average raw material costs pushed up sale prices: on a like-forlike basis, sales revenue rose 6.8% to CHF 3,782.7 million.
“Our priorities remain to complete the integration of the acquired cocoa business and to strengthen our product margins,” said Steinemann. “At the same time, in alignment with our growth strategy, we are preparing the Group for the next growth phase by expanding existing factories and further investing in our overall organization. We are on track to reach our mid-term targets.”
The company confirmed its mid-term financial targets.
