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Danone sees sales volume and profit increase
Food giant Danone has had a good year. Although turnover was lower than in 2023, last year almost 2,2 times as much profit was made than in 2023. More volume was also sold.
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Turnover fell from €27,62 billion to €27,38 billion. Net profit rose from €881 million to €2,02 billion dollars.
Geographically, Danone performed particularly well in North America and Asia, including with sales of infant nutrition and specialty foods for the elderly.
Also more volume again
What is particularly remarkable about Danone's performance, as French sources indicate, is that for the first time in ten years the company is also selling more volume, and not just raising prices.
According to CEO Antoine de Saint-Afrique, the decline in turnover is partly due to the divestment of Russian activities and the sale of two organic dairy brands in the US: Horizon Dairy and Wallaby.
These sales and the good results in general for 2024 have given Danone a well-filled acquisition fund of around €3 billion. Saint-Afrique wants to use this money for new acquisitions, he indicated. He did not say in which segment he is looking for acquisition candidates. However, he is mainly looking for growth in specialized and medical nutrition as well as in infant nutrition.
Although dairy is no longer as important to Danone as it used to be, it is still very important for infant nutrition and special nutrition. That is why Danone still works with around 2.000 farmers, of whom around 1200 are livestock farmers.