Danone, the world’s biggest yogurt maker, reported third-quarter sales that beat analysts’ estimates as Chinese consumers ordered more foreign-made infant formula.
Revenue gained 4.6 per cent on a like-for-like basis, the Paris-based company said in a statement on Monday. Analysts had expected growth of 4.3 per cent, according to the median of 17 estimates. Total sales reached €5.64 billion ($6.4 billion)
Danone said infant nutrition sales rose 11 per cent, beating analyst estimates for a 7.5 per cent gain. The European business had double-digit growth, spurred by Chinese orders while sales of Dumex, a brand in China, declined. Larger Swiss rival Nestle SA has also increasingly been selling baby formula to consumers in that market via the Internet as they spurn locally produced brands. Danone reiterated its forecast for a 2015 like-for-like revenue increase of 4 per cent to 5 per cent, combined with slight improvement in the operating margin.
“As we expect to navigate in a persistently volatile world, the priority of the executive committee and of all Danone teams will remain to deliver profitable growth while strengthening the resilience of our business model,” chief executive officer Emmanuel Faber said in the statement.
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