Shares in Barry Callebaut, the world’s largest B2B chocolate maker, fell today (8 April) after the Swiss group’s first-half earnings fell below analyst estimates.
Net profit for the six months to 28 February was down 7.7% at CHF116.4m. Analysts had expected earnings to come in at CHF129m, according to a poll by Reuters.
Costs linked to Barry Callebaut’s planned acquisition of Petra Foods’ cocoa ingredients division, wider investment in the business and lower turnover hit profits.
Revenue dropped 2.6% at CHF2.39bn amid lower prices for its cocoa ingredients. However, sales volumes increased 7.8%, which Barry Callebaut said was a faster rate of growth than the market.
Shares in Barry Callebaut were down 1.48% at CHF898 at 09:13 CET this morning.
Click here for coverage of Barry Callebaut’s media conference in Switzerland.
