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M. Dias Branco

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In part two of just-food's Category crunch on Brazil's biscuit sector, Paula Krizanovic argues that, with volumes slowing, acquisitions and product innovation will be key ways for local and multinational players to drive growth in a competitive market.

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Biscuit sales in Brazil jumped by almost 40% between 2005 and 2010 but, in a fragmented market, competition has proven tough and there are signs that growth - while still healthy - is slowing. In just-food's latest Category crunch article, we look at how the industry's largest players are reacting.

M. Dias Branco saw its sales and profits grow in 2016 as the Brazil-based biscuits-to-pasta supplier withstood the challenging economic conditions in its domestic market.

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M. Dias Branco, the Brazilian pasta-to-cookies group, revealed efforts to improve its profitability paid off in the second quarter, when the company was able to report sequential and year-on-year growth.

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M. Dias Branco has reported higher first-quarter sales, helped by price increases, but seen profits slide amid higher operating expenses and amid restructuring costs, as the Brazil-based food group looked for efficiency improvements in a "challenging" macro-economic environment.

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M. Dias Branco has posted mixed profits for the first nine months of the year after recording flat sales. 

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The results announced this week included improving sales and profits at Yakult, better earnings but lower sales at US poultry group Pilgrim's Pride and growth at Mexican dairy processor Grupo Lala.

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A busy week for results as the first-quarter reporting season got into full swing. We heard from global food manufacturers as far afield as Latin American and Russia, with the likes of Sigma Alimentos owner Alfa and Cherkizovo Group updating the markets. Here is just-food's weekly financial round up.

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Brazil's M. Dias Branco has posted a 14% jump in full-year profits on the back of higher demand for its products.

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Improved margins and higher sales enabled Brazilian cookies-to-pasta group M. Dias Branco to record higher earnings in the first nine months of the year.

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M. Dias Branco, the Brazil-based food group, has booked higher profits as a series of price increases helped grow sales.

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Brazilian food group M. Dias Branco has reported higher first-quarter sales and profits on the back of improved market share trends.

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Brazilian food group M. Dias Branco has booked an increase in profits for the first nine months of the year, although a spike in the cost of wheat hit margins.

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While the results continued to roll in last week, just-food managed to catch some time with a number of key executives, including the CFO of Arla on the release of its latest earnings results, and Co-op's head of retail who spoke about investments the retailer has in the pipeline. We also took a look at the pitfalls, challenges and opportunities of investing in Brazil as part of a five-part briefing. Here is a selection of quotes from this week's news and insight.

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Brazilian biscuits market leader M. Dias Branco (MDB) has acquired local rival Pelágio Participações for BRL240m (US$130.2m).

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There would have been weary sighs in retail boardrooms this week after India's government suspended plans to open up its retail sector to more overseas investment. It was, Tesco CFO Laurie McIlwee claimed, a "missed opportunity" for India. McIlwee, meanwhile, also faced questions about Tesco's UK operations, which reported another quarter of falling sales. Elsewhere, Wal-Mart, another retailer that could benefit from reform in India, raised eyebrows when it admitted it had opened an investigation into bribery allegations within its international operations.