ZURICH, Switzerland – The Barry Callebaut Group reported on July 20, 2022, its 9-month key sales figures for fiscal year 2021/22. Sales volume were up +7.9% in the first nine months, driven by strong chocolate business (+9.1%), including continued outstanding contribution from Gourmet & Specialties (+27.4%). Sales revenue reached CHF 6.1 billion, up +15.1% in local currencies (+13.5% in CHF).
Peter Boone, CEO of the Barry Callebaut Group, said: “Thanks to our great team, we are delivering continued strong volume growth across all Regions. These excellent results were achieved on the back of a strong chocolate performance, with another outstanding performance by Gourmet, in the third quarter against a high comparison base.”
Barry Callebaut Group Key Sales Figures
The Barry Callebaut Group, the world’s leading manufacturer of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products, reported continued strong sales volume growth of +7.9% to 1,751,422 tonnes during the first nine months of fiscal year 2021/22 (ended May 31, 2022).
Organic volume growth, excluding the first-time consolidation of Europe Chocolate Company (ECC) as of September 2021, amounted to +7.1% in the first nine months. The chocolate business continued its strong momentum in the third quarter (+7.5%), against a high comparison base.
The chocolate volume growth of +9.1% over the first nine months of fiscal year 2021/22 was well ahead of the underlying global chocolate confectionery market (+1.4%). Volume growth continued to be supported by all Regions (EMEA +9.8%, Americas +6.6%, Asia Pacific +14.7%), with positive contributions from the Group’s key growth drivers Gourmet & Specialties (+27.4%), Emerging Markets (+8.7%) and Outsourcing (+6.9%).
Sales volume in Global Cocoa grew by +3.5% to 339,437 tonnes.
Sales revenue amounted to CHF 6,075.8 million, up +15.1% in local currencies (+13.5% in CHF).
Update on entry of salmonella-positive lecithin in Wieze factory
Barry Callebaut detected on June 27, 2022, at its Wieze factory in Belgium a salmonella-positive chocolate production lot and quickly identified a lecithin batch from a supplier as the root cause. In response, Barry Callebaut halted all chocolate production at the Wieze factory on June 29, 2022, as a precautionary measure, which prevented affected chocolate products from entering the retail food chain.
The cleaning of the affected chocolate lines is progressing well. As a result, the first lines are foreseen to restart production as of early August 2022, with a gradual ramp-up to full capacity over the following weeks.
Though the full financial impact of the incident is still being assessed, the Group expects it to be notable for the financial results in the fourth quarter 2021/22.
CEO Peter Boone said: “Food safety is paramount for Barry Callebaut and this is an exceptional incident. I want to thank all teams involved for the speed and diligence with which they are driving the cleaning and the gradual restart of the Wieze factory. We are working closely with our customers and fully understand that this incident is disruptive to their planning. We want to thank them for the good cooperation and understanding.”
Looking ahead, CEO Peter Boone said: “Our strong innovation pipeline and continued drive for new opportunities make us confident to deliver on our mid-term guidance. Our confidence is bolstered by our deep and broad product portfolio and our global footprint.”
