(Reuters) – Swiss chocolate maker Lindt & Spruengli said on Tuesday its sales rose 7.8% organically last year, slightly below market expectations, hit by record high cocoa prices and weakened consumer sentiment.
Chocolate ball maker Lindor said its total sales were 5.47 billion Swiss francs ($5.97 billion) in 2024. That missed analysts’ average forecast of 5.49 billion francs, based on data from LSEG.
The company said it expects to achieve an operating profit margin of at least 16% for 2024, compared with 15.6% a year earlier.
For 2025, Lindt forecasts organic growth between 7% and 9% and an improvement in operating profit margin of 20-40 basis points.
With cacao prices nearly tripling over 2024, analysts expect the chocolate market to face unprecedented cost declines this year.
Cocoa prices rose nearly 180%, the second consecutive annual increase after a 61% rise in 2023. This forced Lindt to further raise its selling prices for 2025, it said in a trading statement.
The full annual results will be announced on March 4.
(1 USD = 0.9158 Swiss francs)
