Mondelez reports first quarter upturn with emerging market growth
Sour Patch and Oreo went hand in hand on the Mondelez stand at the Sweets & Snacks Expo and are due to link for a special edition line. Pic: Neill Barston
Mondelez Internationl has posted its latest quarterly earnings, which have seen net revenues grow by 8.2% for the period, to $10.08 billion, despite ongoing supply chain challenges, reports Neill Barston.
According to the US headquartered business behind brands including Cadbury, Milka and Oreo, its upturn has been underpinned by growth in emerging markets, including Asia, Middle East and Africa, which registered the greatest percentage upturn, at 14.3% to $2.3bn.
Significantly, net earnings were notably up year-on-year, registering $560 for the first four months of this year, compared to $402 million for 2025, which led the company’s CEO Dirk Van der Put to express hope for a more stable year ahead.
As previously reported, supply chain volatility with regards to cocoa prices of the past 18 months appears to be subsiding, though uncertainty still remains in the market, as. well as tests from ongoing geopolitical challenges arising from ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and also in Iran, impacting global trade.
Despite this, Mondelez has continued a strong pattern of extending its portfolio ranges, including special edition Oreo, as well as continuing strong presence of its Cadbury, including its Dairy Milk series, as well as backing emerging enteprises such as Celleste Bio, exploring alternative production of cocoa for chocolate ranges.
The business is set to once again engage with this year’s Sweets and Snacks Expo, with a raft of anticipated innovations. The event calls in Las Vegas between 19-21 May, with the state of the Nevada hosting the event for the first time, following its long-term residency in Chicago, and most recently, Indianapolis, which it will return to next year.
For its part, Mondelez’s European market remains the company’s strongest performing territory in purely financial terms, registering 3.8bn net sales, followed by North America, which remained relatively static with figures up 0.5%, amid notable domestic challenges with the introduction of tariffs during the past year.
In addition, while Latin America is the company’s smallest geographic region, it had among the highest comparative growth, with results up 12%, to $1.3bn for the first quarter.
Dirk Van de Put, Chair and Chief Executive Officer. welcomed the results. He commented: “We posted solid first quarter results led by strong top-line growth in our Emerging Markets while Developed Market growth showed signs of improvement. These results reflect strong execution of our consumer-centric strategy supported by increased investments behind our brands and growth platforms despite ongoing macro volatility.
“The fundamentals of our business remain strong, the capabilities of our people are unmatched, and we continue to boldly invest behind our long-term growth opportunities to enable sustained performance for years to come.
