Lindt & Sprüngli Group sales dip slightly

Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli AG achieved organic growth of 2.3% in 2009 in an extremely difficult market environment for premium products. Despite the generally challenging global economic situation, the company made substantial investments in production facilities in the USA and in marketing and brand-image enhancement.

In many respects, the financial year 2009 was a transitional year for Lindt & Sprüngli. As already announced, various measures were taken to put the business on track for a successful future. These included restructuring of the LINDT chain of retail outlets in the USA, and the creation of logistic synergies with the merger of the warehousing sites of the two Italian subsidiaries. In addition, major investments were made in production facilities in the USA and globally in marketing and brand image enhancement.

Because of currency-related factors, Group sales fell slightly by 1.9% to CHF 2.52 billion (previous year: CHF 2.57 billion). The Group operating result (EBIT) stood at CHF 264.8 million with an operating profit margin of 10.5%. The net profit was CHF 193.1 million. This is equivalent to a return on sales of 7.6% and a return on invested capital of 13.1%. For the financial year 2010 the company expects substantially higher organic growth of 5-7% and an operating result (EBIT) of CHF 300-340 million. From 2011 onwards, Lindt & Sprüngli has its sights set on further annual growth of 6-8% and EBIT growth of 8-10%, so once again meeting its long-term strategic targets.

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