French cheese maker Groupe Bel, the company behind brands including The Laughing Cow, saw its sales growth slow in the third quarter of 2011.
On Thursday (10 November), Bel reported a 1.7% increase in sales to EUR633m (US$862.6m) for the three months to the end of September. In the first nine months of the year, the company’s sales were up 3.7% to EUR1.86bn.
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On an organic basis, which excludes the impact of exchange rates and the disposal of Czech business Jaromericka in 2010, third-quarter sales rose 5.8%. Over the first nine months of 2011, Bel said its sales grew by 6.8% on an organic basis.
Bel said its sales “continued to trend up” in western Europe, the Americas, Asia-Pacific and Greater Africa in the third quarter.
However, it added that the unrest in parts of the Middle East, as well as destocking, hit its business in that region.
Bel confirmed that its full-year operating margin would be lower in 2011 than in 2010 due to “sustained high raw-material prices”.
