Swiss chocolate producer Lindt & Sprüngli posted an 11.6% rise in operating profit for the first half of the year to CHF33.6m (US$30.53m) on sales 3% higher at CHF1.17bn.
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Net profit grew by 4.6% to CHF 22.9m.
Lindt said that “in an extremely challenging market” it would be maintaining its medium to long-term forecast of 6% to 8% annual growth and a continuous improvement in operating profit margin of 20 to 40 base points.
The company said its continuing sales growth was above the market average and it was gaining further market share. However, Lindt added that a weakening economy and fear of inflation are beginning to impact consumer sentiment, especially in the US.
Rises in commodity and energy costs had also impacted on the business, the company said, necessitating price increases over the past few months for both regular and seasonal products which had led to reduced volume growth.
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By GlobalDataHowever, Lindt added that its strategy of focusing on a premium positioning had proved to be an “extremely valuable and sound base for ongoing business success”.
Even in the difficult market and economic environment that prevailed in the first half of 2008, the premium chocolate segment had made “significant progress”, the company said. “Lindt & Sprüngli is convinced that growth rates in the premium chocolate sector will
continue to outstrip development of the market in general in the medium and long term.”
On a regional basis, Lindt’s Europe and the Middle East division showed overall sales growth of 3.8% to CHF830.9m, or 5.9% in local currency terms. Lindt & Sprüngli said Switzerland, France, Austria, and Spain in particular, together with the export markets in Northern and Eastern Europe and in the Middle East, reported “strong growth”.
In its North and Latin American operations, sales grew by 12.1% to US$223.6m, though expressed in Swiss francs, sales in fact fell by 4.1% owing to the depreciation of local currencies. Sales from Lindt’s businesses in other markets grew by 14% to CHF105.3m.
