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Danone results: Volumes and LFL sales up during H1
Global volumes increased by 2.1% and prices were up 2% during H1, which translated to a 4% sales increase on a like-for-like (LFL) basis.
However, reported sales decreased by 2.9% year-on-year (€14,167m in 2023 to €13,757m), a trend which the firm said was reflective of a negative impact from scope and the foreign exchange market.
LFL sales increased across all five of the geographic zones in which Danone operates, including 1.7% growth in Europe. On a reported basis, sales values in Europe were up 2.3%, although volumes only rose by 0.1% during the period.
The group’s recurring operating income grew by 0.7% to €1.746m, recurring earnings per share increased by 2.6% year-on-year.
For its 2024 guidance, Danone projects like-for-like sales growth of between 3% and 5%, with moderate improvement in recurring operating margin.
During the period Danone has strengthened its medical nutrition portfolio through the acquisition of Functional Formularies, a US-based whole foods tube feeding business.
Meanwhile, it also announced plans to invest €70m into a facility in Steenvoorde, France, focused on creating products to help patients suffering from disease-related malnutrition.
Danone CEO comments on H1
Commenting on the results, Danone CEO Antoine de Saint-Affrique said that H1 represented a strong performance for the group.
“[We demonstrated] consistency in delivering quality growth: net sales increased by 4% on a like-for-like basis, driven by volume/mix up 2.1%, with all categories contributing,” he said.
“We keep driving our category growth, further fuelling our winning platforms High Protein, Medical Nutrition, Coffee Creations and Away-from-home.”
Meanwhile, de Saint-Affrique said that Danone is focused on driving its core portfolio “as reflected by the progressive strengthening of our competitiveness across categories”.
“We continue rebuilding our fundamentals, doubling down on Renew Danone, and have established solid foundations for the “next chapter” of our consumer centric and science-based strategy,” he concluded.
In other news, Modern Baker has secured listings with Sainsbury’s and Morrisons for its re-engineered UPF bread brand Superloaf.
