Groupe Bel, the French dairy firm behind Babybel cheese, saw consolidated sales fall by 1.1% in the first quarter of its financial year, to €813 million.
The group attributed this decline to foreign exchange impacts, which impacted sales to the tune of €48 million.
If forex impact is excluded, consolidated sales grew 4.8% organically in Q1 2018.
Regional Performance
The group’s Europe business saw a 1.3% increase in sales in the quarter, to €440 million, while its Middle East- Greater Africa business was down 3.1% to €199 million, and Americas/Asia Pacific saw a 4.6% decline to €183 million.
The group said that its Europe business ‘continued to grow in an increasingly competitive environment. The price increases negotiated for 2018 were not fully reflected in Europe’s sales for the period.’
The Year Ahead
Looking ahead to the coming year, Groupe Bel cited the ‘restructuring of Europe’s retail food sector, economic and geopolitical uncertainties, and extremely volatile foreign exchange rates’ as factors that have the potential to impact its sales.
It said that it is continuing its efforts to ‘further enhance industrial productivity and to carefully manage its resources to ensure the financing of its growth and its transformation into a major player in the healthy snack sector.
‘Bel remains confident about its growth prospects in all its territories, owing to its strengthened operating excellence, the favourable geographical spread of its activities, the relevance of its products in its various markets, and the power of its brands.’
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
