Groupe Danone showed growth across most of its operations in the most recent quarter, posting a 15% year-over-year gain in total sales.
Danone had $7.26 billion in sales for the quarter, compared with $6.33 billion for the same period last year. Sales growth was consistent across all geographic areas and product lines. Recurring net income went up 5.1%, to $1.08 billion.
In North America, sales rose 8.9% for the quarter, to $1.71 billion. A company report singled out coffee creamers, yogurts and plant-based protein alternatives as products that thrived, in brands that include International Delight coffee creamers; Oikos, Activia and Danimals yogurt, and Silk soymilk.
Specialized Nutrition was the category with the sharpest growth, with its $2.15 billion in sales constituting an 11% year-over-year increase. That category benefited from increased production of Neocate and Aptamil baby formulas to meet an ongoing shortage in the U.S.
“This strong first half, with broad based progress despite an unprecedented external environment, is a testimony to the resilience, the focus and the engagement of all Danoners,” CEO Antoine de Saint-Affrique said in the report. “We started deploying our Renew Danone agenda with discipline and consistency, further accelerating our growth in Q2: we show good momentum across many facets of the business from Aptamil to Waters or North America, to name a few.”
