Price hikes hit volumes at Lindt, shares fall

Shares in Lindt & Sprungli soured on Tuesday, despite the Swiss chocolatier increasing its full-year sales forecast, after steep price hikes hit volumes in the first half.

  • Lindt & Spruengli AG
  • 22 July 2025 12:05:14

Source: Sharecast

Organic sales at the 180 year-old group rose by an 11.2% in the first six months of the year to CHF2.35bn (£2.18bn), driven largely by healthy demand in Europe - where revenues surged 17.7% - and new products such as Dubai-style bars.

Analysts had been expecting interim sales closer to CHF2.30bn.

The company therefore raised sales growth guidance for the full year to between 9% and 11%, up from its previous forecast for 7% to 9%.

Lindt acknowledged, however, that the growth had also been supported by “necessary” price increases of 15.8%, after cocoa costs hit record highs.

While off their 2024 peak, cocoa prices remain sharply elevated, as climate change and poor crop yields at aging West African farms weigh heavily.

Lindt said low price elasticity had led to a volume/mix decline of -4.6%, while earnings before interest and tax were weaker-than-expected, down 11.3% a CHF259.2m

In addition, North America’s organic sales growth of 3.6% was below expectations. US consumers are becoming increasing cautious in light of Donald Trump’s swingeing tariff regime and the prospect of higher prices.

As at 1130 BST, the Zurich-listed stock had lost 8%.

Adalbert Lechner, chief executive, said: “I am proud of what our teams achieved in the first half. We have shown resilience in a challenging market environment.”

Lindt, which has 12 factories in Europe and the US, employs around 15,000 people.

Compare our accounts

If you're looking to grow your money over the longer term (5+ years), we have a range of investment choices to help.

Lloyds Bank is not responsible for the content and accuracy of the Markets News articles. We may not share the views of the author. Understand the risks, please remember the value of your investment can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invest. We don't provide advice so if you are in any doubt about buying and selling shares or making your own investment decisions we recommend you seek advice from a suitably qualified Financial Advisor. Past performance is not a guide to future performance.

Important legal information

Lloyds and Lloyds Bank are trading names of Halifax Share Dealing Limited. The Lloyds Bank Direct Investments Service is operated by Halifax Share Dealing Limited. Registered Office: Trinity Road, Halifax, West Yorkshire, HX1 2RG. Registered in England and Wales no. 3195646. Halifax Share Dealing Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, 12 Endeavour Square, London, E20 1JN under registration number 183332. A Member of the London Stock Exchange and an HM Revenue & Customs Approved ISA Manager.

Logo Allfunds

The information contained within this website is provided by Allfunds Digital, S.L.U. acting through its business division Digital Look Ltd unless otherwise stated. The information is not intended to be advice or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any of the shares, companies or investment vehicles mentioned, nor is it information meant to be a research recommendation. This is a solution powered by Allfunds Digital, S.L.U. acting through its business division Digital Look Ltd incorporating their prices, data news, charts, fundamentals and investor tools on this site. Terms and conditions apply. Prices and trades are provided by Allfunds Digital, S.L.U. acting through its business division Digital Look Ltd and are delayed by at least 15 minutes.

FE fundinfo Logo

Data provided by FE fundinfo. Care has been taken to ensure that the information is correct, but FE fundinfo neither warrants, represents nor guarantees the contents of information, nor does it accept any responsibility for errors, inaccuracies, omissions or any inconsistencies herein. Past performance does not predict future performance, it should not be the main or sole reason for making an investment decision. The value of investments and any income from them can fall as well as rise.

Refinitiv Logo

© 2025 Refinitiv, an LSEG business. All rights reserved.