Consumer sentiment improved slightly as the global economy slowly stabilised and showed the first visible signs of an upswing. Although most chocolate markets reported moderate growth in value terms over the first six months of 2010, there was stagnation in many places in terms of volume, especially in Europe and the US.
Competition, which had become even more intense during the global economic crisis, continues to focus very heavily on pricing. Rising raw material prices, particularly for cocoa beans, and the extreme fluctuations experienced by key currencies made the economic framework conditions even more difficult.
Against the background of these challenges, Lindt & Sprüngli has succeeded in meeting the growth and profit forecasts published last March, and has slightly exceeded expectations.
In comparison with the same period in the previous year, the group achieved organic growth in local currencies of 9.2% as at 30 June 2010, far exceeding the performance of the chocolate market as a whole. In Swiss francs, this equates to sales of CHF 1,057bn – an increase of 7.9%. The difference between growth in terms of local currencies and Swiss francs is mainly due to the continued weakening of the US dollar, euro and pound sterling.
Read the full Lindt financial statement at this link.
Source: Lindt International
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