The Bell Food Group has released its financial results for 2022, for what it describes as a 'challenging financial year.'
Net sales for the full year were CHF 4.3 billion (€4.3 billion) (+6.4 % in currency-adjusted terms), EBIT came to CHF 162.9 million (€165.3 million) (+0.4 %) and the annual profit was CHF 127.8 million (€129.6 million) (+0.4 %).
The Swiss company said the Bell International business area in particular had a very successful year and was an important driver of the 'good result.'
Difficult General Conditions
The company noted that sales of traditional cut salads suffered from the difficult general conditions, and that the quality and availability of plant raw materials from Europe posed 'a serious challenge.'
Bell Food Group said the financial year was dominated by the 'normalisation of the coronavirus situation, high inflation, rising costs and restrained consumer sentiment.'
It plans to approve a dividend of CHF 7 (€7) per share at its Annual General Meeting.
Geopolitical Situation
The Swiss food company has warned that the geopolitical situation will have a decisive effect on the economic general conditions in Europe this year.
"For as long as the crisis persists, the situation will remain tense with regard to procurement costs as well as the quality and availability of raw materials," said CEO Lorenz Wyss.
The group said it will be crucial that it is able to pass on higher production costs to consumers in a timely manner.
In a statement, the Bell Food Group noted the decline in purchasing power caused by inflation is likely to continue, affecting consumer demand. With regard to demand, it noted the trend in favour of simpler products can be expected to continue.
© 2023 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest A-brand news. Article by Robert McHugh. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
