The chief executive of Fazer Group today (25 March) issued a cautious forecast for 2010, with cost control to drive profits and tough trading conditions to weigh on the Finland-based baker and confectioner sales.
Speaking to just-food, Fazer CEO Karsten Slotte said he was “quite confident” the business could increase profits this year but warned that turnover would not rise significantly.
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Slotte said initiatives to keep a lid on costs would help Fazer’s bottom line as it deals with a challenging economic environment, particularly in the Baltic states.
“I have much more confidence in 2010 than I had 12 months ago but I don’t see a big growth in our business. We can increase our top line a little bit but it won’t be a quantum leap,” Slotte said.
“The markets in the Nordic region are stable markets. The market in Russia is quite stable. I don’t believe the situation in the Baltic will change.”
However, Slotte added: “We are quite confident for an improvement in our bottom line in 2010 – mainly through better cost control.”
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By GlobalDataA focus on costs helped Fazer’s profits inch up in 2009, a year when its turnover dropped by almost 9%. Sales was also hit by weakness in Fazer’s foodservice division and the group’s demerger with Swedish confectioner Cloetta, which affected the group’s sales in Sweden.
Despite those challenges, Slotte said Fazer’s management was pleased with the company’s performance in 2009.
“The board are happy with the results, which were even better than we thought they would be,” Slotte admitted.
