Food products Lindt & Sprüngli has further increased profitability in 2024
Premium chocolate manufacturer Lindt & Sprüngli further increased its profitability last year despite high cocoa prices and exceeded analysts' expectations. Shareholders will receive a higher dividend.
04.03.2025, 07:27
04.03.2025, 08:07
SDA
The producer of Lindor balls, pralines and chocolate bunnies posted an operating profit (EBIT) of CHF 884.2 million in the 2024 financial year. This corresponds to an increase of 8.7 percent compared to the previous year, as the company announced on Tuesday. The operating profit margin rose by 0.6 percentage points to 16.2 percent.
Lindt struggled with record-high cocoa prices, considerable price increases and subdued consumer sentiment. Tight cost control, efficiency improvements, process optimizations and price increases to compensate for the high cocoa costs contributed to the higher profitability, the company wrote. Compensation in the US legal dispute with a logistics company also had a positive effect.
The bottom line was a net profit of 672.3 million Swiss francs. This is 0.1 percent more than in the previous year. Without a one-off tax effect in 2023, net profit would have increased significantly. In 2023, Lindt benefited from a one-off tax reduction following the introduction of global minimum taxation and the Swiss tax reform.
As has been known since January, Lindt grew strongly in 2024 and gained market share worldwide despite a shrinking global market in terms of volume. Annual sales rose by 5.1 percent to 5.47 billion Swiss francs. This is the second time in the company's history that the 5 billion mark has been surpassed.
Dubai chocolate a bestseller
In its annual report, Lindt describes the launch of its own Dubai chocolate bar shortly before Christmas as the "biggest event of the year" in response to "unprecedented hype" on social media. Consumers "queued for hours" in Lindt retail stores to try the recipe. The success prompted the company to create Lindt Dubai Style Chocolade based on a similar recipe for wholesalers.
In Europe, Lindt recorded organic growth of 9.5 percent with double-digit growth in markets such as the UK, Central and Eastern Europe, France and Benelux. In North America, sales growth was below average at 5.0 percent. According to Lindt, challenges there included early Easter orders in 2023 and inventory reductions at large retailers. The "Rest of the world" region achieved organic growth of 10.0%, thanks in particular to growth in Brazil, Japan and China.
1500 francs per share
Shareholders should now benefit from the business performance in the form of a higher dividend. Holders of Lindt registered shares - one of which is one of the most expensive shares in the world with a market value of over 109,000 Swiss francs - will receive a dividend of 1,500 Swiss francs per share, an increase of 100 Swiss francs. The dividend on the participation certificate will increase by CHF 10 to CHF 150.
With the results presented, Lindt & Sprüngli exceeds all analysts' estimates according to the AWP consensus, in terms of EBIT, margin, net profit and dividend.
Targets confirmed
The company confirmed its targets for the current year, in which it is celebrating its 180th anniversary. For 2025, Lindt & Sprüngli expects the consumer trend away from quantity towards high-quality premium chocolate to continue. Despite further price adjustments, the Group expects organic growth to increase by 7 to 9 percent and the operating profit margin to improve by 20 to 40 basis points.
For the years thereafter, the company confirms its strategic medium to long-term targets of organic sales growth of 6 to 8 percent with an improvement in the operating profit margin of 20 to 40 basis points per year.
