French food group Danone beat third-quarter sales expectations on Thursday, boosted by higher sales volumes as price hikes slowed.
The world’s largest yoghurt maker said the results also reflected strong demand in North America for high-protein products, coffee creamers and water.
Danone kept its forecast for 2024 like-for-like sales growth of between 3% and 5% with a moderate improvement in recurring operating margin.
The finance chief of the French food group Juergen Esser said, “We feel very confident to deliver within this corridor, even if consumer confidence is a bit soft.”
The maker of Activia yoghurt, Evian water and Aptamil infant milk posted a 4.2% rise in third quarter like-for-like sales to €6.826 billion.
This was above analysts’ expectations for a 3.9% rise in a company-compiled consensus.
Sales volumes rose by 3.6% in the third quarter, compared to the 2.9% increase analysts had expected, according to a company-provided consensus.
The company raised its prices by 0.7% during the period, less than the previous quarter’s increase of 1% and less than the 0.9% seen in the consensus.
Analysts from Bernstein said in a note, “Volumes have been a particular focus for the market through Q3, and this bodes well for Danone today.”
Consumer goods companies such as Danone, Nestlé and Unilever are slowing price hikes after three years of steep increases following the Covid-19 pandemic as shoppers hit by a cost-of-living crisis turned to cheaper, non-branded options.
Last week, Nestlé cut its full-year outlook for organic sales growth to about 2% following weaker than expected nine-month underlying sales growth.
Read More: Unilever Beats Third-Quarter Underlying Sales Estimate
