International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF) reports continuing job
cuts and a drop in profits for fourth quarter. But stronger flavour
sales in North and South America helped offset a weaker scenario in
Europe.
Like its larger compatriot Carrefour, French supermarket group
Casino
ended 2003 with sales slightly ahead of the previous year but
continued to suffer at the hands of adverse currency exchange
rates.
Carrefour,
Europe's biggest food retailing group, has continued to prove that
growth can be achieved by companies with a major international
spread despite ongoing currency exchange rate concerns.
Preliminary sales figures for 2003 released by Dutch retailer Ahold
today will make for broadly encouraging reading after a turbulent
year marked by fraud revelations and major restructuring moves.
German wholesale and retail giant Metro has ended 2003 with sales
growth at its expanding international business offsetting the
continued depression in its home market.
A sluggish market hit by falling exchange rates, unrest in the
Middle East and SARS in Asia all contributed to a drab organic
revenue of 2 per cent for the year, Danish ingredients company Chr.
Hansen reported this week. But the tide...
Wal-Mart has announced a significant jump in sales for the third
quarter driven largely by its European and South American
operations. In the UK the group's Asda division has continued its
success with strong store sales growth...
Pricing pressure hits another ingredients company as leading
Australian yeast supplier Burns Philp sees low margins cutting into
profit for the quarter.
Metro, the German wholesale and retail group, has scrapped plans to
sell its extensive property portfolio after lengthy negotiations
with the prospective buyer ended in failure. The decision came as
the group announced solid sales...
Against a current tough market backdrop for ingredients, Danish
company Chr Hansen is facing up to the challenge, with the dairy
culture specialists this week lifting previous profit forecasts for
the year by €4 million on the back...
Ahold's financial fortunes are going from bad to worse. Already
facing losses of €1bn for 2002, the current year is unlikely to
shape up any better, at least if today's third quarter figures are
to be believed.
Dutch industrial chemicals maker DSM said on Monday its profit in
the second quarter had fallen 75 per cent lower than in the same
period in 2002, as lower sales volumes and falling prices hit the
chemicals market.
New flavour wins in Latin America went some way to offsetting
weaker customer demand acutely felt in the US, but top line
performance for the third quarter was largely disappointing and the
outlook remains bearish.
Carrefour, the world's number two retailer, has made no secret of
its ambitious expansion programme, and with new stores giving a
significant boost to third quarter sales, the company's strategy
cannot be faulted - especially...
Europe's biggest food retail group Carrefour has reported sales
growth of 1.3 per cent for the first half of 2003, even after the
impact of negative currency exchanges. Second quarter sales grew at
current rates for the first...
Danish enzymes company Novozymes continues on a high this year,
despite a slight fall in food enzyme sales for the quarter,
resulting in an overall boost to 13 per cent for its forecast for
net profit increase for the full year.
Belgian retailer Delhaize is improving slowly, but its business
continues to be affected by the weakening of the US dollar against
the euro. Nonetheless, the company is hopeful of a
better-than-expected performance for the year as...
By all accounts DSM presented a less than rosy set of second
quarterly figures this week with sales and operating profit figures
both plummeting. The company predicts a further downward trend in
the third quarter but should rebound...
Dutch life science company DSM today posted a net profit of €959
million. Although DSM Fine Chemicals posted slightly lower sales
and a lower operating profit, attributable to the pharma products
and aspartame businesses, DSM Food...
Higher raw material and energy costs, matched against a weak US
currency, sent sales for Swiss fine chemicals producer down 3.7 per
cent with operating profit plunging by 16.5 per cent.
Underlying growth in both Casino's French and foreign operations
was not enough to offset the ongoing negative impact of exchange
rates in the first half, the retailer announced yesterday.
While currency translation continued to reduce sales growth at
Carrefour in the second quarter, the company posted its first
quarterly sales increase in six quarters last week. A sign that the
worst is now over for the group's...
A satisfactory fourth quarter helped Danish ingredients giant
Danisco achieve a 17 per cent increase in earnings per share for
the 2002/2003. The company reports a particularly strong
performance from its texturant products which...
Speciality chemicals group Cognis reported an organic sales growth
of €13.9 million for the first quarter, up 1.7 per cent from the
corresponding period for 2002. But sales down, largely impacted by
exchange rate outlay.
Despite an increase in sales UK flavour and fragrance company
Treatt described trading for the six months to 31 March 2003 as
'challenging' this week, with profit before tax falling by
24 per cent to £955,000 (€1.3m) compared...
Ahold's troubles continued in the first quarter of the current year
with sales dropping 11 per cent compared to 2002, mainly due to
exchange rate declines. But organic growth at most units was solid,
a small ray of hope for the...
Operating profit for Danish enzyme company Novozymes improved
marginally in the first quarter of 2003, despite the impact of
unfavourable exchange rates. On the back of favourable developments
in net financials, the company reports...
Metro has shrugged off currency concerns and the tough German
economic conditions to post a rise in sales for the first quarter.
But most of the improvement came from non-food operations, and
there is still work to do to improve the...
The global economic downturn marked 2003 first quarter results for
Dutch life science company DSM, but strong autonomous volume growth
boosted figures to higher than 2002.
Dutch life science company DSM saw net profit for the fourth
quarter of 2001 rise to €1,031 million from €119 million in the
fourth quarter of 2000, largely due to the sale of the depositary
receipts. Profit on 4Q ordinary activities...
French sugar company Beghin Say reported yesterday that sales for
2002 had edged back by just 1.8 per cent, amid the constant scope
of consolidation and exchange rates.
Following the declaration last week that it is to invest in the
food enzyme side to its business, Danish enzyme company Novozymes
yesterday reported 'the best year ever' for 2002 with sales rising
7 per cent from DKK 5,271...
US flavours and fragrance giant International Flavors &
Fragrances saw fourth quarter 2002 sales rise 5 per cent to $424.3
million (€391m) from $405.6 million for the same period in 2001,
despite weak economic conditions in Latin...
The devaluation of the Brazilian and Argentine currencies has taken
its toll on full-year sales at French retailer Carrefour, but the
company has maintained its profit forecast as a result of steady
growth in sales at constant exchange...
Last year was a difficult one for Dutch retail group Ahold, at the
profit level at least, but the final sales figures for 2002 were
nonetheless encouraging. But with organic growth rates slowing
considerably compared to 2001, there...
Australian food ingredients group Burns Philp & Co. said on
Monday that despite a decline in sales, net profit had risen
sharply to A$56.8 million (€32m) in the first quarter ended 30
September compared to A$19.2 million a year...
Flavour sales continued to decline in Europe for number one
flavours and fragrances company, International Flavors &
Fragrances, but despite this the overall picture for the third
quarter of 2002 is clearly optimistic and the...
Bunge, the world's largest oilseed processor, which recently
acquired a 55 per cent stake in rival French-based Cereol, said
yesterday that quarterly earnings rose sharply as a slump in the
Brazilian currency helped boost the...
Like Carrefour last week, French retailer Casino has reported third
quarter results severely impacted by the effect of exchange rates,
in particular from its Latin American unit. But sales nonetheless
progressed during the quarter.
Exchange rate declines, in particualr from Brazil and Argentina,
led to a 1.5 drop in third quarter sales at Carrefour, but sales at
constant currency rates were up 5.6 per cent, a figure the French
group preferred to highlight.
Bunge, set to become the world's top soybean processor with the
acquisition of French rival Cereol, said on Monday that it expected
third-quarter earnings to rise at least 40 per cent over a year
ago, fuelled by the currency...
For the first time in many years, the Dutch retail group Ahold has
reported a quarterly loss for the second three months of the year,
an announcement which "hurt" the proud company.
US food company Cargill, the new owner of French starch
manufacturer Cerestar, reported $161 million (€182m) in earnings
for the third quarter ended February 28, up 63 per cent from $99
million earned in the same period a year ago.
The U.S. ethical nutrition market is divided into four very
distinct categories: the infant formula market, adult enteral
formula, parenteral formula and ethical nutrition supplies and
equipment markets.
On June 25, the Anglo-Dutch consumer products giant Unilever
recognised that the imminent introduction of the euro single
currency had helped accelerate...
Novartis, the Swiss drugs company, said on Monday it has bought 20
per centof the voting shares in Roche, its competitor, for
SFr4.83bn ($2.8bn) cash,...