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Mondelēz International has reported a 1.4% increase in first-quarter net revenue to $9.29 billion, compared to an 18.1% increase in the year-ago quarter, despite a 'challenging and dynamic' operating environment. This 'challenging' environment could be due to rising cocoa prices as a result of global supply shortages, which result in price hikes and shrinkflation. Speaking to analysts after the release of its financial results and addressing this issue, Mondelēz CEO, Dirk Van De Put, said: “While surprising but temporary, the cocoa inflation does not affect the fact that our categories remain durable and our growth opportunities remain sizeable.” He added: “Record costs for cocoa ingredients and the resulting current and future price increases for customers and consumers, obviously, are generating substantial discussion. Despite this near-term headwind, chocolate volume continues to grow and within this growing category, we remain structurally advantaged with large opportunities still ahead.” "While poor weather and other factors on the supply and demand side have driven prices to unprecedented levels, we believe there will eventually be a market adjustment.” The US confectionery giant’s organic net revenue grew 4.2% in the 3-month period, driven by higher net pricing, steady demand for its products and the $1.35 billion sale of its gum business to Perfetti Van Melle. While the owner of Cadbury and Oreo increased its prices by 6.3 percentage points in the quarter, its volumes fell 2.1 percentage points. Mondelēz’s Asia, Middle East and Africa business delivered 0.6% growth in net revenue for Q1, compared to 3.9% growth for the region in q1 2023. The company’s Europe business witnessed a 1.8% growth in revenue, much lower than last year’s 12.7% increase. In North America, Mondelēz saw a 2.1% decline in net revenue for the first quarter, down from the region’s 26.8% growth in the year-ago quarter. Meanwhile, the company’s Latin America business reported an 8.9% increase, the largest growth out of all Mondelēz’s regions, but still much lower than the 46.6% growth that the region reported this time last year. Van de Put commented: “We posted solid top-line results coupled with robust earnings and free cash flow generation in the first quarter driven by strong pricing execution, effective cost management and emerging market momentum." He continued: “Despite facing a challenging and dynamic operating environment, our teams remained focused and agile in executing against our long term growth strategy. We continue to reinvest in our brands, drive distribution gains and capture synergies from recently acquired assets to drive sustainable long-term growth.”