UK – Mondelēz International posted a 4.1% growth in organic net revenue during the year ended December 31, 2019, topping the consensus expectation for a gain of 2.5%.
However, Mondelēz reported a 0.3% decline in net revenue to US$25.868 billion and a US$15 million decline in gross profit during the period driven by unfavorable currency impacts.
Despite the slight slip in net revenue, Mondelēz said that it was on track towards executing its growth strategy having reported strong progress in emerging and high-growth markets.
“2019 was a major step forward for the company: Execution of our strategy, including investments in global and local brands, enabled us to deliver strong top-line performance and to meet or exceed all of our financial targets,” said Dirk Van de Put, Chairman and CEO.
“We are increasingly confident that our incremental investments in brands and capabilities, emphasis on volume leverage and profit dollar growth will create a virtuous cycle that consistently delivers attractive top-and bottom-line growth and sustained free cash flow generation.”
The company noted that it made strong progress against the strategies of accelerating consumer-centric growth, driving operational excellence and building a winning growth culture in 2019.
Among some of the highlights included accelerated growth in global, strong progress in fastest growing market channels, everyday executional excellence, continuous cost improvement and bringing more innovations to enable quick marketing.
Last year, the confectionery giant completed the sale of most of its cheese business in the Middle East and Africa to Arla Foods of Denmark and acquired a majority interest in a U.S. refrigerated nutrition bar company, Perfect Snacks, within its North America segment.
For 2020, the company expects performance in line with its long-term growth algorithm of over 3 percent Organic Net Revenue growth, high-single-digit percent Adjusted EPS growth on a constant-currency basis and Free Cash Flow of approximately $3 billion.
Mondelez has also announced some management changes. The company has appointed Gustavo Valle as President, Latin America, effective February 1, 2020.
Gustavo brings more than three decades of leadership experience across Latin America, North America and Europe.
In more than 20 years at Danone, he held a breadth of positions and most recently led the global dairy division, having previously delivered business turnaround and managed through volatility as CEO Brazil and CEO Argentina.
