Barry Callebaut Reports Sales for the First Nine Months of Fiscal Year 2007/08: Dynamic Sales Growth

The implementation of the major outsourcing deals that were signed last year is on track. Sales volumes were also driven by new contracts with new and existing industrial and artisanal customers, in all regions.

02/07/08 Barry Callebaut AG, the world’s leading manufacturer of high-quality cocoa and chocolate products, announced its key sales figures for the first nine months of fiscal year 2007/08 ended May 31, 2008. Prior-year figures have been restated mainly to reflect discontinued operations. Published figures include the participation acquired in KLK Cocoa (now renamed Barry Callebaut Malaysia) as of May 1, 2008.

Barry Callebaut continued to deliver dynamic sales growth in the first nine months of the current fiscal year as sales volumes rose to 872,993 tonnes, which corresponds to a growth rate of 10.0% – more than three times the growth rate of the global chocolate market. The implementation of the major outsourcing deals that were signed last year is on track. Sales volumes were also driven by new contracts with new and existing industrial and artisanal customers, in all regions. This additional business more than compensated for the impact of a shorter pre-Easter selling season due to an exceptionally early Easter in 2008. The resulting volume decline in March was followed by higher volumes in the subsequent months, leading to very strong volume growth in the third quarter. Sales revenue rose by 18.6% to CHF 3,608.6 million in the first nine months of fiscal year 2007/08. Revenues were positively affected by historically high raw material prices and negatively impacted by a weakening USD and GBP against the EUR and CHF. These unfavorable exchange rate developments have started to weigh on exports of Gourmet chocolate from continental Europe to the U.S., the UK and Asia. Therefore, Barry Callebaut is about to launch a locally produced Gourmet line in the U.S. and in Asia.