Oatly Group Continues North American Sales Decline, Red Ink
Oatly Group AB, once a high flyer in the alternative milk category, continued a precipitous sales slide in North America, sending its third-quarter financial report into the red again.
The Sweden-based market leader in oat milks said North American sales for the quarter were $62 million, down 10% from the third quarter of 2024. Although sales from Europe/International and China offset the decline, the company reported a before-tax loss of $64.5 million for the quarter, $128 million for nine months, both of those figures eclipsing the red ink for the same periods in 2024.
By one accounting measure – “adjusted” earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA – CEO Jean-Christophe Flatin exulted in the company’s first qualified profitability, $3 million by that measure, since going public globally in May 2021. But true EBITDA showed a loss of $4.7 million for the quarter, which widened to the $64.5 million shortfall after applying finance costs, depreciation and amortization – but not taxes.
Founded in the 1990s, Oatly entered the U.S. in 2016 and quickly established itself as a market leader. The U.S. market was considered so important that the company renovated a factory here in 2018 and planned a second one, which was subsequently canceled. Celebrity investors before the IPO included Oprah Winfrey, Jay-Z and Natalie Portman.
About the Author
Dave Fusaro
Editor in Chief
Dave Fusaro has served as editor in chief of Food Processing magazine since 2003. Dave has 30 years experience in food & beverage industry journalism and has won several national ASBPE writing awards for his Food Processing stories. Dave has been interviewed on CNN, quoted in national newspapers and he authored a 200-page market research report on the milk industry. Formerly an award-winning newspaper reporter who specialized in business writing, he holds a BA in journalism from Marquette University. Prior to joining Food Processing, Dave was Editor-In-Chief of Dairy Foods and was Managing Editor of Prepared Foods.