LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - French food multinational Danone reported a 7% jump in full-year net sales on a like-for-like basis in its 2023 results on Thursday, to €27.62bn.
The growth was primarily attributed to a 7.4% rise in prices, partially offset by a 0.4% reduction in volume and mix.

In the fourth quarter, Danone recorded sales growth of 5.1% on a like-for-like basis, with a positive turnaround in volume and mix of 0.8%.

Danone said its presence in China, North Asia and Oceania continued to show robust competitive growth, as its recurring operating margin saw a significant increase of 40 basis points to 12.6%, despite substantial reinvestment in operations.

The transformation of its European Dairy Products (EDP) operation was said to have been instrumental in driving Danone's success, yielding positive results with volume and mix returning to positive territory.

Additionally, North America contributed to the solid performance, with brands like International Delight and Oikos driving volume and mix-led growth.

Despite ongoing investments, Danone achieved a record level of free cash flow at €2.6bn, facilitating further strategic investments and enabling deleverage.

The recurring earnings per share also saw a positive movement, rising 3.4% to €3.54.

Danone's board proposed a dividend of €2.10 per share, up 5% year-on-year.

Looking ahead, Danone said it expected like-for-like sales growth of between 3% and 5% in 2024, along with a moderate improvement in its recurring operating margin.

"2023 was a year of consistent progress and strong delivery against our Renew Danone agenda," said chief executive officer Antoine de Saint-Affrique.

"We put science back at the heart of what we do and further tied sustainability to business performance.

"We made significant progress in sharpening our portfolio."

De Saint-Affrique said the company further invested in its brands, innovations and capabilities, progressively improving the quality of its growth while creating value for all stakeholders.

"In a context which remains challenging, the progressive improvement of our volume-mix, turning positive in the fourth quarter, the visible progress made by EDP Europe, and the continued strong momentum of our medical nutrition activity are encouraging signs, even if lots remains to be done.

"Building on the positive momentum of 2023, we are starting this new financial year with confidence in our Renew strategy.

"We will continue to focus on consistent execution and delivery, in line with the mid-term ambition we defined in March 2022."

At 1241 CET (1141 GMT), shares in Danone were down 0.13% in Paris at €61.62.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

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