International business and branded products support Emmi’s sales

OREANDA-NEWS. International business and branded products support Emmi’s sales.

Emmi Group sales in financial year 2015

in CHF million	Business division Switzerland	Business division Americas	Business division Europe	Business division Global Trade	Group
Net sales 2015	1,793.3	798.1	487.3	135.2	3,213.9
Net sales 2014	1,888.1	840.0	508.8	167.1	3,404.0
Difference 2015/2014	-5.0 %	-5.0 %	-4.2 %	-19.1 %	-5.6 %
Acquisition effect*	-	-1.7 %	7.9 %	-1.8 %	0.6 %
Currency effect	-	-6.1 %	-11.3 %	-	-3.2 %
Organic sales growth	-5.0 %	2.8 %	-0.8 %	-17.3 %	-3.0 %

* Positive acquisition effects came from the increased stake in German dairy Gl?serne Molkerei (with effect from 1 October 2014) and the purchase of the cheese business of Canadian company J.L. Freeman (with effect from 15 April 2015). Negative acquisition effects resulted from the sale of Italian company Trentinalatte (with effect from 31 October 2014) and Emmi Penn Yan in the US (with effect from 18 December 2014).

In 2015, Emmi generated sales of CHF 3,213.9 million, a decline of -5.6 % over the previous year (CHF 3,404.0 million). In organic terms, i.e. adjusted for currency and acquisition effects, sales at Group level fell by -3.0 %. The cheese segment came under strong pressure. By contrast, the performance in fresh products (e.g. yogurt, milk drinks) was positive, as important brands such as Emmi Caff? Latte, Jogurtpur, Onken, Bont? Divina and Rachelli delivered growth.

Emmi’s CEO Urs Riedener stated: “Our international business made a major contribution to mitigating the considerable drop in sales in Switzerland. The fact that this was achieved despite the necessary price increases for export products demonstrates how robust our brands are. Price and import pressure is a challenge in Switzerland, which we will continue to face in 2016.”

Business division Switzerland: stronger competitive pressure in the second half

Sales by product group: business division Switzerland
in CHF million	Sales 2015	Sales 2014	Organic growth
Dairy products	678.5	710.1	-4.5 %
Cheese	503.5	554.9	-9.3 %
Fresh products	350.5	343.3	2.1 %
Fresh cheese	116.6	126.0	-7.4 %
Powder/concentrates	61.9	73.2	-15.4 %
Other products/services	82.3	80.6	2.1 %
Total Switzerland	1,793.3	1,888.1	-5.0 %

Sales in the business division Switzerland fell significantly more than expected, by -5.0 % from CHF 1,888.1 million to CHF 1,793.3 million. Volume effects accounted for -3.3 % and price effects for -1.7 %. Emmi had forecasted a decline of between -4 % and -3 %.

This performance is due, among other factors, to the increase in imports, which was particularly marked with regards to cheese. In addition, retail tourism in areas close to the Swiss border rose significantly again due to the low euro exchange rate, putting pressure on Swiss retailers and food producers. The resulting price and cost pressure is set to continue.

Despite the challenging situation, there were also positive developments in the Swiss market. Various brand concepts proved to be extremely robust and recorded increased sales. These include the fresh products Emmi Caff? Latte, Jogurtpur and YoQua, the new protein-rich yogurt.

Sales of dairy products (milk, cream, butter) fell in line with the market. In the cheese segment, AOP cheeses posted significant declines, while the Kaltbach specialities and Der Scharfe Maxx generated slightly higher sales. Strong import pressure also left its mark on fresh cheese, both in terms of price and volumes.

The business division Switzerland accounted for 56 % of Group sales (previous year: 55 %).

Business division Americas: good organic growth in the US and Tunisia

Sales by product group: business division Americas
in CHF million	Sales 2015	Sales 2014	Difference 2015/2014		Acquisition effect	Currency effect	Organic growth
Cheese	329.5	315.4	4.5 %		3.2 %	0.1 %	1.2 %
Dairy products	239.1	267.1	-10.5 %		-4.3 %	-10.1 %	3.9 %
Fresh products	175.5	197.7	-11.2 %		-6.6 %	-10.8 %	6.2 %
Powder/concentrates	1.1	5.5	-80.8 %		-	-1.8 %	-79.0 %
Other products/services	52.9	54.3	-2.4 %		-	-5.6 %	3.2 %
Total Americas	798.1	840.0	-5.0 %		-1.7 %	-6.1 %	2.8 %

The business division Americas includes not only the US, Canada and Chile, but also Spain, France and Tunisia.

Sales fell by -5.0 % from CHF 840.0 million to CHF 798.1 million. In organic terms, i.e. excluding currency and acquisition effects, this resulted in growth of 2.8 %. This was below the original expectations of 3 % – 5 % due, among other factors, to persistently low milk prices. Strong negative currency effects resulted in all markets except the US. The positive acquisition effect is attributable to the cheese business of J.L. Freeman, while the negative acquisition effect resulted from the sale of Emmi Penn Yan.

Organic sales growth was due primarily to the good performance in Tunisia and the US. In Tunisia, yogurts, milk and desserts sold under the Vitalait brand generated significantly higher sales, adjusted for currency effects, with a corresponding positive impact on the dairy and fresh products segments. The latter was also boosted by growth in Kaiku’s lactose-free products and clear double-digit growth of Emmi Caff? Latte in Spain. In the US, both cheese exports to the US (primarily Kaltbach) and locally manufactured cow’s and goat’s milk cheese experienced a boost.

Chile and France were limiting factors, with both markets facing difficult economic conditions.

The business division Americas accounted for 25 % of Group sales (previous year: 25 %).

Business division Europe: notably robust sales despite price increases

Sales by product group: business division Europe
in CHF million	Sales 2015	Sales 2014	Difference 2015/2014		Acquisition effect	Currency effect	Organic growth
Fresh products	212.2	257.5	-17.6 %		-11.6 %	-8.1 %	2.1 %
Cheese	122.6	136.3	-10.0 %		2.8 %	-11.7 %	-1.1 %
Dairy products	91.1	42.0	116.8 %		153.7 %	-29.8 %	-7.1 %
Fresh cheese	39.9	56.8	-29.8 %		0.2 %	-9.7 %	-20.3 %
Powder/concentrates	14.9	7.0	111.7 %		17.8 %	-29.0 %	122.9 %
Other products/services	6.6	9.2	-28.5 %		1.8 %	-9.8 %	-20.5 %
Total Europe	487.3	508.8	-4.2 %		7.9 %	-11.3 %	-0.8 %

In the business division Europe, sales fell by -4.2 % from CHF 508.8 million to CHF 487.3 million. In organic terms, i.e. adjusted for currency and acquisition effects, sales declined by just -0.8 %. This is remarkable given the weakness of the euro, lower milk prices and the rigorously implemented price increases, and exceeded Emmi’s expectations. The original forecast was a decline of between -4 % and -2 %.

Increasing the stake in Gl?serne Molkerei resulted in a positive acquisition effect. The negative acquisition effect was due to the sale of Trentinalatte.

In fresh products, sales of Emmi Caff? Latte and Onken (in the UK) as well as those of the Italian speciality desserts of A-27 and Rachelli increased in organic terms. In cheese, the Kaltbach specialities and Der Scharfe Maxx proved resilient. Both brands saw increases in Germany and Austria.

By contrast, the cheese business suffered clearly in the AOP cheese area due to negative currency developments. The organic decline in dairy products was primarily due to the lack of availability of organic milk at Gl?serne Molkerei.

The business division Europe accounted for 15 % of Group sales (previous year: 15 %).

Business division Global Trade: fewer butter and milk powder exports, weak emerging markets

The business division Global Trade covers direct sales from Switzerland to customers in international markets, primarily in countries where Emmi has no subsidiaries. These include Asian and Eastern European markets, as well as most South American countries and the Arabian Peninsula.

Sales amounted to CHF 135.2 million compared with CHF 167.1 million in 2014. This corresponds to a fall of -19.1 %, or -17.3 % in organic terms.

The negative performance was due primarily to lower butter and milk powder exports (effect 2015: CHF -17.2 million). Other reasons include the decline in contract manufacturing and the economic slowdown in countries such as Japan, Brazil and Russia. By contrast, the strong position of Swiss Premium Yogurts in Asia was expanded.

Global Trade accounted for 4 % of Group sales (previous year: 5 %).

Outlook

Emmi’s evaluation of the economic environment in the half-year report published in August has not changed significantly since. The same applies to the conditions within the Emmi Group. As a result, Emmi maintains its profit forecast for 2015.

Emmi will announce its forecast for sales and net profit in 2016 when the results for the financial year 2015 are published. The analysts’ and media conference will take place on 24 March 2016 in Lucerne.