Duc, the France-based poultry group, saw its third-quarter sales fall at a faster rate than in the first half of its financial year, with the company pointing to a challenging domestic market.
The company booked revenue of EUR44.4m (US$47.4m) for the three months to the end of September, down 4.9% on a year earlier. The drop in the third quarter compared to a 1.3% decrease in the first six months of Duc’s financial year. It meant nine-month sales fell 2.5% year-on-year.
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Duc pointed to a “difficult external environment” in the French market where the poultry sector is slowing. It cited data from Kantar Worldpanel that showed the poultry market in France fell by 1.1% between 29 December and 4 October.
The group also cited a summer heatwave and a “price war” in France as factors for the pressure on sales.
Outside France, Duc said it had had to “concede” market share to international rivals in South Africa. It claimed the country’s trade agreements had affected prices in that market.
