Danone will slow price increases in 2024, as the FMCG giant reported a 3.1% profit rise in 2023.
The food manufacturer, which owns labels such as Activia, Actimel, Alpro and baby formula brand Aptamil, experienced a slight dip in sales – down 0.2% to £23.6bn (€27.619bn) – however this was offset by an increased margin.
Danone’s operating margin for the full 2023 year increased to 12.6% of sales from 12.2% in 2022.
The FMCG’s CEO Antoine de Saint-Affrique said that “we are in a world of slowing-down inflation”, but warned there would still be “volatility”.
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He added: “We expect to have a price component in our growth, it will differ by region. We made significant progress in sharpening our portfolio. We further invested behind our brands, our innovations and our capabilities, progressively improving the quality of our growth, while creating value for all stakeholders.
The CEO’s comments follow in the wake of other FMCG giant’s announcements that they too will begin to ease price rises in the upcoming year, as many shoppers opt to switch to cheaper own brand alternatives.
Earlier this week, Nestlé revealed its prices will rise at a slower rate, while last month Unilever’s CEO Hein Schumacher earlier this month that the company’s “competitiveness remains disappointing“.
Late last year, Danone was one of the brands highlighted in a report by the Competition and Markets Authority that accused some brands of having “pushed up prices more than cost increases“, and has since launched a separate investigation into the baby formula market.
