Barry Callebaut posts key upturn in six-month revenues
The Swiss-headquartered Barry Callebaut group has reported a 6.0% (+3.5% in CHF) increase in sales revenues, to CHF 3.6 billion, for the first six months of its financial year, amid the success of its ruby chocolate.
The global manufacturer of chocolate and cocoa products also noted an 18.8% (15.1% in CHF) rise in net profits over the first two annual quarters, to CHF 199 million, influenced by a notable increase in EBIT earnings and lower income tax expenses.
Significantly, sales volumes were also up 2.4% to 1,046,695 tonnes for the first six months of the 2018/2019 financial year, performing well against global averages, with the wider market growing at a rate of 1.5% for the period.
CEO Antoine de Saint-Affrique welcomed the results, which built on further growth experienced by the business in the previous financial year. He commented: “We saw an acceleration of volume growth in the second quarter, which, combined with the consistent execution of our ‘smart growth’ strategy, delivered a strong profit increase.”
In terms of its global performance, sales volumes for the EMEA region were up 2% to 480,721 tonnes, with increases in the second quarter, while sales in South America increased by 5.8% to 281,204 tonnes. For Asia Pacific saw an upturn of 5.7% for the first six months of the year, to 57.192 tonnes. This was against regional confectionery market growth of 8.6%
During the past six months, the business has achieved a number of strategic milestones, which have included establishing a new office in Beijing, in addition to delivering its second Chocolate academy centre in China (pictured), this March.
Another highlight came in developing its Global Packaging Center in Halle, Belgium, which services Gourmet customers across the world and considerably strengthens the supply chain in the growing Gourmet business. Also, in February 2019, Barry Callebaut completed acquisition of Inforum, a leading Russian B2B producer of chocolate, compound coatings and fillings, which strengthened its operations in the region.
As the business added, the results have been underpinned by the development of ruby chocolate, which celebrated its first commercial anniversary from its launch in Tokyo, Japan in March. According to the company, its ruby variety is now available in more than 20 brands in over 40 markets across Europe, South Asia, South America, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
Regarding progress on its sustainability work, the group has submitted its latest results to the independent body, the Carbon Disclosure Project, on becoming carbon positive by 2025. The organisation assesses carbon reduction plans of over 7,000 companies every year, scoring them on a scale from A, the pioneers, to F. Barry Callebaut was awarded an A- for its carbon reduction activities in the CDP 2018 assessment.
