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Danone, which is the world’s largest yoghurt maker, said in a statement that its guidance for 2023 was in line with its mid-term targets of like-for-like sales growth of between 3% and 5%, with a moderate improvement in recurring operating margin.
The owner of Activia yoghurt and Evian bottled water reported like-for-like sales growth of 7.8% for the 2022 full year, near the top end of its 7% to 8% sales growth guidance.
For the fourth quarter alone, Danone achieved 7% sales growth, which beat market expectations of 6.2% growth, with all three businesses — Essential Dairy and Plant-based, Specialised Nutrition and Waters (NYSE:WAT) — making a contribution.
The operating margin for the 2022 full year declined to 12.2% of sales from 13.7% in 2021, broadly in line with expectations. This reflected inflationary pressure and costs related to investments in brands in the second half of the year.
