(Reuters) -Swiss chocolate maker Lindt & Spruengli on Tuesday said its sales grew 7.8% organically last year, coming in a touch below market expectations, hit by record high cocoa prices and weakened consumer sentiment.
The maker of Lindor chocolate balls said its overall sales were 5.47 billion Swiss francs ($5.97 billion) in 2024. That missed analysts’ average forecast of 5.49 billion francs, based on LSEG data.
The company said it expected to achieve an operating profit margin of at least 16% for 2024, compared to 15.6% a year before.
For 2025, Lindt forecast organic growth of between 7% and 9% and an improvement in its operating profit margin of 20–40 basis points.
With cocoa prices having nearly tripled over 2024, analysts are expecting the chocolate market to face an unprecedented cost headwind this year.
Cocoa prices rose by almost 180%, a second successive yearly increase after 61% growth in 2023. This has forced Lindt to further hike its selling prices for 2025, it said in the trading statement.
It will report full annual results on March 4.
($1 = 0.9158 Swiss francs)