Emmi sees improved sales for 2020 but warns of future
Image credit: Emmi
Emmi increased sales in the first six months of the financial year, which was affected by the corona crisis, by 6.6% to CHF1.7bn (€1.5bn). The leading Swiss milk processor’s organic growth of 2% was in particular due to a strong retail business in its home market of Switzerland, important brand concepts such as Emmi Caffè Latte and business in strategic niches.
The coronavirus-induced slump in the food service business had a particularly heavy impact on sales in the Americas division. Despite considerable uncertainties, Emmi remains cautiously optimistic for the full year result.
The markets in the Europe division showed a general trend comparable to that in Switzerland: The decline in convenience-heavy fresh products was offset by strong growth in dairy products and cheese. However, positive impulses for the fresh products segment came from the UK, where Onken yogurts and Emmi Caffè Latte increased. In the cheese segment, higher exports of Swiss cheese to Italy and the Netherlands contributed to organic growth. The Gläserne Molkerei in Germany was able to switch back to growth on the basis of a revised strategy and profited from the increasing demand for organic products. Sales in the Americas division (US, Spain (excluding Lácteos Caprinos), Chile, Brazil, Tunisia, France, Mexico and Canada) were hampered by the slump in the food service business. The total growth of 15.5% compared to the same period of the previous year is essentially due to the acquisitions in Brazil and Chile.
In the first half of 2020, Emmi once again demonstrated that it is solidly positioned. Based on a broadly diversified portfolio and a diversified mix of countries, categories and sales channels, it has so far been possible to successfully defy the Covid-19 crisis.
However, a recovery is currently not in sight in markets that have been severely affected by the pandemic and are important for Emmi, such as the US, Brazil, Mexico and Chile.
Worldwide consumer confidence remains at a low level and recessive economic developments are already a fact in most countries. In the second half of the year, there will also be no positive one-off effects from the first half of the year, while it should take several years for certain sales channels to sustainably recover.
