Danone’s first-quarter results show a company still struggling with the impact of the pandemic, as it searches for a new CEO.
Danone’s sales for its first fiscal quarter declined 3.3%, to 5.66 billion euros ($6.81 billion) in the first quarter. Sales edged upward 1.6% for “essential dairy” and plant-based foods. But sales of Evian and other bottled water plunged 11.6% and “specialized nutrition” was down 7.7%. The latter includes baby formula, which suffered from lower birthrates and difficulty exporting to China, a major market.
Danone’s struggles come while it searches for a replacement for Emmanuel Faber, who stepped down as CEO and board chairman last month. Faber had been instrumental in Danone’s development of plant-based dairy alternatives, but activist investors complained that Danone hadn’t performed as it should during the pandemic. Last year’s sales were down 6.6%, although profits were up 1.4%.
