Prepared-vegetable firm Bonduelle has reported 4.2% year-on-year growth in first-quarter revenue, to €568.5 million.
Reported revenue for the period declined by 0.5%, with the company witnessing a negative impact of 4.7% on business growth due to the depreciation of the Russian rouble and weakening of the US dollar.
Bonduelle added that business growth was in line with its annual revenue growth forecast of around 5% and operating margin of over 3%, at constant exchange rates.
It hopes to benefit from changes in the consumer environment, the recovery of fresh-processed activity, and new price increases, designed to compensate for inflation.
European Market
The company’s European division accounted for 66.0% of Bonduelle’s total revenue during the quarter, witnessing growth of 7.2% on a like-for-like basis and 7.6% on reported figures.
The group’s retail activity grew in value, but posted a slight decline in volume.
Its foodservice business remained flat overall, in terms of volume, but saw value growth.
The fresh-processed segment and bagged salads remained under pressure in Germany and France, while Italy posted growth in terms of both volume and value.
The fresh-prepared segment, which is very sensitive to weather conditions, benefitted from a particularly dynamic month of September, with significant increases in volume and market share gains, Bonduelle noted.
Non-European Zone
The company’s business outside of Europe generated 34% of revenue in the first quarter, with a year-on-year decline of 0.5% on a like-for-like basis. In reported terms, its performance went down by 13.2%.
On a like-for-like basis, its results were flat, in terms of value, and down marginally in volumes, with significant differences in performance between regions.
In Eurasia and Mercosur, canned activity showed consistent performance in terms of volume and value, particularly for the Bonduelle brand.
However, frozen activity in Eurasia, which is very marginal, continued to face challenges posed by prevailing market trends.
In North America, salad bowl activity continued to witness a decline, despite gaining market share due to a downturn in the overall market.
Elsewhere, salad kits (salad bags with ingredients), supported by innovations, grew in terms of both volume and value.
