Barry Callebaut remains confident despite decline in sales

The Barry Callebaut Group, the world’s leading manufacturer of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products, reported – against a high prior-year comparison base – resilient sales volume of 560,354 tonnes, which corresponds to a decline of –4.3% during the first three months of fiscal year 2020/21 (ended November 30, 2020).

Sales volume in the chocolate business continued to improve, with a slight decline of –1.8% to 447,704 tonnes, in line with the underlying global chocolate confectionery market. The key growth drivers Outsourcing (+2.6%) and Emerging Markets (+4.7%, excluding Cocoa) contributed positively and Gourmet & Specialties continued to recover (–5.5%). Sales volume in Global Cocoa declined by –13.1% to 112,650 tonnes as a result of the continued focus on ‘smart growth’.

Sales revenue in the first three months amounted to CHF 1,777.5 million, a decline of –3.5% in local currencies (–11.2% in CHF).

Outlook – Confident to deliver on mid-term guidance

Looking ahead, CEO Antoine de Saint-Affrique said: “In still volatile markets, we continue to find new ways of doing business and seize opportunities while maintaining strict cost discipline. We see a gradual recovery, supported by our consistent focus on ‘smart growth’, our broad customer footprint and our strong innovation pipeline. This makes us confident that we can deliver on our mid-term guidance.”

Expansion:

The Group deepened its presence in China in November 2020 with the inauguration of a CHOCOLATE ACADEMY Centre in Shenzhen, the third in China and the 23rd globally. Through inspiration, education and personalised support, the CHOCOLATE ACADEMY Centre in Shenzhen will strengthen the collaboration with artisans, pastry chefs, confectioners, bakers and caterers in South China.

In November 2020, La Morella Nuts opened a Global Centre of Expertise for nuts in Reus, Spain. The Centre aims to grow expertise in taste and texture, sourcing and sustainability, as well as application knowledge. Furthermore, La Morella Nuts announced further expansion in Europe, Asia Pacific as well as North America and introduced a specialty nut range for plant-based beverages, snacks and frozen treats targeting brands and artisans. Through this range, La Morella Nuts is tapping into the growing consumer demand for healthier indulgence and plant based products.

Sustainability:

Barry Callebaut published in December 2020 its fourth Forever Chocolate progress report, detailing its achievements in making sustainable chocolate the norm by 2025. The Group achieved an –8.1% reduction in carbon emissions in fiscal year 2019/20, reducing its global carbon footprint (scope 1, 2 and 3) to 7.8 million tonnes CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalents). Barry Callebaut trained almost 100,000 cocoa farmers on child labor awareness and increased the number of farmers mapped with geographic and socio-economic data to over 180,000. It also distributed more than 2.0 million cocoa seedlings and 1.6 million shade trees.

In November 2020, corporate and public leaders joined Barry Callebaut to sign the coconut industry’s first Sustainable Coconut Charter. The charter aims to improve farmer livelihoods, lessen the carbon footprint of coconut production and boost supply to meet rising global demand for coconut products.

Furthermore, in November 2020, Barry Callebaut announced an industry first project that will convert cocoa by-products into biochar at one of its European factories. Biochar is similar to charcoal and can be used to produce energy, reduce waste and permanently store carbon. Using cocoa shells to produce biochar will help Barry Callebaut to achieve its Forever Chocolate target of becoming carbon positive by 2025.

In December 2020, for the second year in a row, Barry Callebaut was awarded an A- by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) for its 2019 efforts to reduce its carbon footprint.