Food products Lindt & Sprüngli with strong growth in 2024

SDA

14.1.2025 - 07:45

The chocolate manufacturer Lindt&Sprüngli once again exceeded the 5 billion mark in sales last year. (archive picture)
The chocolate manufacturer Lindt&Sprüngli once again exceeded the 5 billion mark in sales last year. (archive picture)
Keystone

Lindt & Sprüngli has grown strongly in 2024. And the chocolate manufacturer is also aiming for above-average growth in the current financial year.

Keystone-SDA

According to a press release issued on Tuesday, the Kilchberg-based company increased its sales of Lindor balls, pralines and chocolate bunnies by 5.1 percent to 5.47 billion Swiss francs last year. This is the second time in the company's history that the 5 billion mark has been surpassed.

Currencies reduced the result by 2.7 percent. In organic terms, i.e. excluding currency effects, growth amounted to 7.8% (H1: +7.0%). The growth was supported by price increases in the mid-single-digit range to compensate for higher cocoa prices as well as a solid volume/mix development, according to the press release. All regions contributed to the sales growth.

With the figures presented, Lindt is in the upper range of its own long-term targets of 6 to 8 percent for the most important figure, organic growth. Analysts surveyed by the news agency AWP had on average expected a slightly lower growth rate of 7.2 percent.

The company can look back on a challenging year that was characterized by record-high cocoa prices, considerable price increases and subdued consumer sentiment, writes Lindt. The cocoa market was volatile in the year under review, with cocoa prices reaching an all-time high at the end of the year. To compensate for the high cocoa prices, the company was forced to increase prices, which will also be necessary in 2025.

Significant increase in margin expected

Profit and margin figures have not yet been announced. They will follow together with the detailed figures on March 4. However, Lindt states in the press release that it is confident of achieving an operating profit margin (EBIT) of at least 16.0% (previous year: 15.6%).

In the current year 2025, Lindt expects - based on the "necessary price adjustments" - an increase in organic growth of 7 to 9 percent and an improvement in the operating profit margin of 0.20 to 0.40 percentage points.

For the years after 2025, the company confirms its medium to long-term targets of organic sales growth of 6 to 8 percent with an improvement in the operating profit margin of 0.20 to 0.40 percentage points per year.