Pandemic Helps Mondelēz Here, Hurts Overseas

Mondelēz International saw sales for the most recent quarter fall slightly, as strong North American sales were offset by declines overseas.

North American sales rose 17%, to $2.03 billion, in the quarter ended June 30, compared with last year. However, sales in Latin America fell 11%, and in the Asia-Middle East-Africa region, by 3%. Overall revenue for the quarter declined about 2.5%, to $5.91 billion from $6.06 billion. That still exceeded market estimates by a slight margin, according to data quoted by Reuters.

Company officials blamed both coronavirus spikes and stricter social-distancing measures for the drop in sales overseas, which is where about two-thirds of Mondelēz’ revenue comes from.

The spike in domestic sales was attributed to increased demand for snacks like Oreo cookies among homebound consumers. That demand has increased to the point where Mondelēz is cutting about a quarter of its SKU portfolio to concentrate on increasing production for mainstream products.