Parmalat, the Italian dairy group, saw its profit fall nearly 14% in 2008 due to rising raw material prices and a drop in unit sales.
The company said today (30 January) that EBITDA fell 13.7% to EUR316.3m (US$404.5m).
Revenues, however, rose 1.2% to EUR3.9bn, or 6.9% at constant exchange rates
In mature markets, Parmalat said unit sales levels were adversely affected by the growth of private-label products and heightened competitive pressure, while in emerging markets the economic crisis constrained consumer demand.
The sale of the company’s Newlat subsidiary reduced the company’s revenues by EUR72.6m.

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By GlobalDataIn Central and South America, revenues improved to EUR452.1m, up 23.5% on the previous year.
“The group responded to the challenges it faced by using a successful pricing policy to offset the impact of higher raw material prices and a decrease in unit sales,” Parmalat said. “The improvement in the mix contributed to the containment of the negative effect of the decrease in volumes.”
Parmalat said it expects full-year net profit of between EUR610m and EUR615m.