After cutting sales volume guidance due to inflation-hit customers’ spending cuts, Barry Callebaut (BARN.S), the world’s largest chocolate manufacturer, hired Peter Feld as its new CEO on Wednesday.
Feld replaces Peter Boone, who resigned for personal reasons. Feld led Jacobs Holding, Barry Callebaut’s largest shareholder.
The Zurich-based business, which supplies chocolate for Unilever’s (ULVR.L) Magnum ice creams and Nestle’s (NESN.S) KitKat bars, said sales volumes declined 2.9% to 1.13 million tonnes in the six months ended Feb. 28.
Inflation has reduced demand, the business stated.
Chief Financial Officer Ben De Schryver said the chocolate company expects a “flat to modest” volume increase this year.
Julius Baer’s pre-market indicators showed Barry Callebaut shares down 2.5%.
Vontobel analyst Jean-Philippe Bertschy said today’s announcement wouldn’t soothe investors. “The size of the downward revision is enormous,” he noted.
In the second quarter, sales volumes dropped 0.5% from -5.1%.
It noted that increased raw material prices were passed on to clients, boosting revenue by 3.7% to 4.2 billion Swiss francs ($4.64 billion).
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