Quorn owner Monde Nissin has reported another decline in meat-free sales but EBITDA turned positive in the second quarter of 2025.
It was also a more upbeat picture for Philippines-headquartered Monde Nissin in terms of net profit for the category as losses narrowed for the quarter and the first half of the year.
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While “softness” in consumer demand continues to weigh on the listed company’s meat-alternatives operating segment, Monde Nissin CEO Henry Soesanto was more sanguine on the outlook. And impairment charges that have plagued the business were absent for the category in the latest results.
“We are pleased to report continued improvement in our meat-alternative business during the second quarter. Our gross margin expanded over 200 basis points, and we achieved positive EBITDA for the quarter after funding A&P investment,” Soesanto explained in the statement yesterday (6 July).
Sales of meat-free products in the quarter to 30 June dropped 2.1% to 3.29bn pesos ($57.5m) on a reported basis, a smaller decline than the 2.7% reported in the same period of last year. However, over the first half, a 3% sales decrease was more pronounced than the 0.6% in the opening six months of 2024.
Into the third quarter, Monde Nissin, essentially the Quorn brand in terms of meat alternatives, is seeing signs of improvement.
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By GlobalData“In July, we saw a modest year-over-year increase in meat-alternative sales, which was our first growth after several years of decline,” Soesanto said.
“While it is just one month, it is an encouraging sign given ongoing category headwinds. We remain focused on stabilising performance and adapting to evolving consumer preferences.”
Meanwhile, gross profit for the segment climbed 6.4% to 828m pesos, building on the 3.9% increase reported in the second quarter of last year.
Year to date, gross profit was up 8.5% at 1.6bn pesos following a 5.6% decline in the corresponding six months.
The net-income loss after tax for meat-free products narrowed to 157m pesos in the second quarter from a 270m-peso loss. Losses also shrank to 215m pesos from 486m pesos over the first half of the year from the previous six months.
Core EBITDA delivered a positive outcome – 24m pesos for the quarter compared to an 84m-peso loss a year earlier. Similarly, for the first six months of 2025, EBITDA was in the black at 165m pesos versus a 144m-peso loss.
Monde Nissin said the improvement in the gross margin for meat alternatives to 25.1% was “driven by transformation benefits, lower inventory, lower input costs, and targeted selling price increases, partially offset by the impact of lower production volumes”.
Meat-free is a relatively small proportion of Monde Nissin’s group sales and profits, which are dominated by the core Asia Pacific branded food and beverage business (APAC BFB), which features the likes of Lucky Me noodles, SkyFlakes crackers and Nissin cookies.
Group sales across the two divisions rose 3.8% in the second quarter to 20.6bn pesos, of which APAC BFB delivered 17.2bn pesos, a 5% increase.
First-half total sales amounted to 41.5bn pesos, up 3.3%. APAC BFB accounted for 34.9bn pesos, a 4.6% improvement.
Monde Nissin’s bottom-line performance for the group and the core business was less upbeat.
Net profit after tax fell 18.7% in the quarter to 1.8bn pesos for the company overall, while it dropped 21.2% for the APAC BFB division to 2bn pesos.
Declines were delivered of 7.3% and 11.5% for the two business units, respectively, for end first-half results of 4.7bn pesos and 4.9bn pesos.
