Our website publishes news, press releases, opinion and advertorials on various financial organizations, products and services which are commissioned from various Companies, Organizations, PR agencies, Bloggers etc. These commissioned articles are commercial in nature. This is not to be considered as financial advice and should be considered only for information purposes. It does not reflect the views or opinion of our website and is not to be considered an endorsement or a recommendation. We cannot guarantee the accuracy or applicability of any information provided with respect to your individual or personal circumstances. Please seek Professional advice from a qualified professional before making any financial decisions. We link to various third-party websites, affiliate sales networks, and to our advertising partners websites. When you view or click on certain links available on our articles, our partners may compensate us for displaying the content to you or make a purchase or fill a form. This will not incur any additional charges to you. To make things simpler for you to identity or distinguish advertised or sponsored articles or links, you may consider all articles or links hosted on our site as a commercial article placement. We will not be responsible for any loss you may suffer as a result of any omission or inaccuracy on the website.

Barry Callebaut operating profit falls 40% on transformation costs

by Uma Rajagopal
0 comments
2024 04 10T052050Z 1 LYNXNPEK3906J RTROPTP 4 BARRY CALLEBAUT RESULTS scaled

Barry Callebaut operating profit falls 40% on transformation costs

(Reuters) -Barry Callebaut, the world’s biggest chocolate maker, reported lower than expected half-year operating profit on Wednesday, hit by one-off expenses caused by its transformation plan.

The Swiss-based company’s earnings before interest and tax fell 40% in local currencies to 178 million Swiss francs ($197 million) on a reported basis in the six months to the end of February.

Analysts were expecting an EBIT of 266 million francs, a company-provided consensus showed.

Barry Callebaut, which supplies chocolate for the soon-to-be-spun-off Magnum ice creams made by Unilever and for Nestle’s KitKat bars, said that increasing cocoa prices and the broader inflationary environment drove revenue up by 11% in Swiss francs. The consensus had expected an increase of 5.7%.

Climate change, years of insufficient planning and tree diseases have brewed a perfect storm for farmers in Western Africa, a region which accounts for roughly 70% of global cocoa supplies, driving prices to historical highs.

Cocoa now trades at a higher price than copper.

Barry Callebaut said half-year sales volumes were broadly unchanged from a year earlier, in line with its annual guidance for flat volumes.

($1 = 0.9036 Swiss francs)

(Reporting by Paolo Laudani and Mateusz Dobrzyniewski; editing by Milla Nissi)