By Michael Susin
Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Spruengli said 2024 sales grew in line with its guidance, supported by positive sales volume and price increases that offset higher cocoa prices.
The Swiss chocolatier on Tuesday said annual sales grew 7.8% to 5.47 billion Swiss francs ($5.97 billion) on an organic basis. This is in line with the company's guidance of 6% to 8% organic growth.
However, analysts expected Lindt's revenue to be 5.49 billion Swiss francs, according to estimates provided by LSEG Refinitiv.
The rise in sales was supported by mid-single-digit price increases that offset higher cocoa prices, and a positive volume mix, it said.
All three regions contributed to the sales growth, with Europe's sales up 9.5% and the rest of the world up 10%. Sales in North America, a region that makes up around 40% of Lindt's total sales, grew 5%.
The company said it expects earnings before interest and taxes--the company's operating profit--margin in 2024 of at least 16%, in line with its previous guidance of the upper end of 20 to 40 basis points compared with the previous-year levels of 15.6%.
In 2025, Lindt expects to deliver sales growth of 7% to 9%, and Ebit margin growth of 20 to 40 basis points per year.
It also backed its medium- and long-term guidance, as it continues to expect sales growth between 6% and 8%.
Write to Michael Susin at michael.susin@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
01-14-25 0143ET