Cadbury beats Street with 46% rise in H1 net
British confectionery giant Cadbury beat forecasts with a 46% rise in first-half profits and gave an upbeat outlook, shrugging off fears of consumer downturn, which helped to boost its shares.
LONDON : British confectionery giant Cadbury beat forecasts with a 46% rise in first-half profits and gave an upbeat outlook, shrugging off fears of consumer downturn, which helped to boost its shares.
However, the London-based group which makes Dairy Milk chocolate, Trident gum and Halls cough drops warned of possible further cost cuts and job losses as it faces an uncertain economic outlook and further rises in input costs into 2009.
Chief executive Todd Stitzer said after a 7.3% rise in underlying first-half sales, that full-year growth would be around the top of its medium-term 4-6% range while the operating margin will meet a consensus market forecast of some 11%.
���No matter how bleak economies look, people always go for treats and that���s why we have seen no real slowdown in the first half and we see confectionery as a robust category in difficult economic conditions,��� he told a conference call on Wednesday.
Cadbury shares rose 0.6% to 629 pence by 0905 GMT having outperformed the FTSE 100 index by over 6% this year, making them one of the highest rated European consumer stocks boosted by continued takeover talk.
���This is a strong performance,��� said analyst Jeff Stent at Citi, while Charlie Mills at Credit Suisse said: ���Revenues are in line, but margins well ahead of our estimates.���
However, the London-based group which makes Dairy Milk chocolate, Trident gum and Halls cough drops warned of possible further cost cuts and job losses as it faces an uncertain economic outlook and further rises in input costs into 2009.
Chief executive Todd Stitzer said after a 7.3% rise in underlying first-half sales, that full-year growth would be around the top of its medium-term 4-6% range while the operating margin will meet a consensus market forecast of some 11%.
���No matter how bleak economies look, people always go for treats and that���s why we have seen no real slowdown in the first half and we see confectionery as a robust category in difficult economic conditions,��� he told a conference call on Wednesday.
Cadbury shares rose 0.6% to 629 pence by 0905 GMT having outperformed the FTSE 100 index by over 6% this year, making them one of the highest rated European consumer stocks boosted by continued takeover talk.
���This is a strong performance,��� said analyst Jeff Stent at Citi, while Charlie Mills at Credit Suisse said: ���Revenues are in line, but margins well ahead of our estimates.���
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