Swiss chocolate maker Lindt & Sprüngli on Tuesday raised its targets for 2021 after seeing its sales and profits recover in the first half of the year after the shock of last year's health crisis, thanks in part to a rebound in sales at Easter.
In the first six months of 2021, sales recovered by 16.4% in Europe, 18.8% in North America and 18% in the rest of the world thanks to a significant rebound in Easter sales (which exceeded expectations), strong sales of its Lindor pralines and Excellence tablets brands, along with the growth of its online sales.
However, health restrictions continued to affect its network of shops and cafés as well as sales in airport duty-free shops, which are still below pre-pandemic levels.
Lindt’s net profit more than quintupled compared with the first half of last year, rising to 101.6 million Swiss francs, while its turnover rose by 17.2% to 1.8 billion francs, it said in a statement.
Excluding currency effects, its organic growth reached 17.4%, the Zurich-based group said.
The figures exceed the forecasts of analysts questioned by the Swiss agency AWP, who were on average expecting a rebound in profits to 59.5 million francs and a turnover of 1.6 billion.
The group, which had already said at the beginning of the year that it expected above-average growth in 2021 with the rebound of the chocolate market, has again raised its targets, now forecasting double-digit growth in organic sales for the year as a whole.
The group known for its golden Easter bunnies also confirmed its medium to long-term targets, aiming for a return to growth in the region of 5-7%.
Last year, the group saw its turnover melt by 12.7% in the first half of the year and its profit plummet by 77.6%, weighed down by its fixed costs.
