date:Jul 30, 2014
Danone has reported a 2.2% increase in like-for-like sales to Eur10.5 billion for the first half of 2014. However, as anticipated, trading operating margin fell sharply in the first half, down 159 bps to 11.27%.
The decline reflects comparison with the very high figure reported in the first half of 2013, before the group was hit by the steep rise in milk prices and fallout from Fonterras false safety alert. The organic sales growth reflects a 3.0% decline in sales volume and a 5.2% increase due