Danone recorded net sales of €27.7 million in 2022, a like-for-like increase of 7.8% on the previous year, despite a drop in its recurring operating margin, latest figures show.
The Paris-headquartered global food and beverage group, whose brands include Activia yoghurt, Evian water and Alpro, today (Wednesday, February 22) reported full-year results for 2022.
The latest figures show that group sales grew last year by an average of 7%, with 4% growth recording in Europe – largely driven by the specialised nutrition side of its business.
Danone’s sales growth in north America hit 9.7% in 2022, while a rate of 3.4% was recorded in China, north Asia, and Oceania. The figure for the rest of the world was reported to be 9.8%.
Despite these strong sales figures, the latest financial accounts also show that the French group’s recurring operating margin fell to 12.2% in 2022 from 13.7% in 2021.
The accounts detail that operating income dropped from €2,257 million in 2021 to €2,143 million in 2022, while operating margin fell from 9.3% to 7.7%.
Latest accounts from the world’s largest yoghurt producer also show that the company’s cashflow from operating activities dropped from €3,474 million to €2,964 in 2022.
This decrease was “mainly driven by the strong negative impact of input cost inflation” according to the group .
However, the accounts show that the French group managed to partially offset the effects of this with a positive change in “topline drivers including volume, mix and price”.
Commenting on the 2022 full-year results, Antoine de Saint-Affrique, Danone’s chief executive, said that 2022 was “a year of unprecedented external challenges and volatility”, but added that it was also one of “transformation and solid delivery” for Danone.
“We closed a year of solid growth, +7.8% on a like-for-like basis, with all regions and categories contributing.
“While delivering on our financial commitments for 2022, we started reinvesting significantly in our capabilities, product superiority and brand support.
“We also defined and immediately put into action our new strategy, Renew Danone. Importantly, 2022 was not only a year of strategy and transformation, but also one of meaningful progress and delivery,” he added.
Danone’s board of directors will propose a dividend of €2/share in respect of the 2022 fiscal year at the annual shareholders’ meeting on April 27.
This will represent an increase of 3.1% on last year’s figure, and Danone has stated that if this is approved, dividends will be paid by May 11, 2023.