Swiss chocolate maker Lindt & Spruengli said it expected its sales to drop around 5-7% this year after COVID-related store closures hit sales and profit in the first half of 2020.
Chocolate makers have been facing low demand because many grocery shoppers focused on stocking up on essential supplies and made fewer impulse purchases during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Lindt & Spruengli, the expected organic sales in the full financial year to be around 5–7% lower than in 2019. The company said the outlook was based on the assumption of no more large-scale lockdowns and Christmas sales figures similar to last year.
In the first half of 2020, the company reported organic sales falling 8.1% to 1.53 billion Swiss francs ($1.63 billion), while net profit slid to 19.7 million francs, from 88.1 million francs.
Sales were mainly affected by the restrictions on retail trade and the temporary closure of around 500 of Lindt’s shops over Easter, usually a peak season for sales.
The company confirmed its mid-to-long-term organic sales growth aim of 5–7% yearly and said it could surpass this limit in 2021 due to the expected catch-up effect.
Lindt & Spruengli expects that operating profits should return to around 15% in 2022/23, and the operating margin should again grow by 20–40 basis points per year in the medium to long term.
