A report by Moody’s Investors Service has said that the global consumer packaged goods industry is likely to see revenue increase by around 2% over the next 12 to 18 months, against a backdrop of global economic growth of between 2% and 3%.
In order to drive this growth, it said that firms such as Procter & Gamble, Unilever and Kimberly-Clark are ‘cutting operating costs to expand their profit margins’.
“Brand rationalization, plant consolidation, working capital reductions, redundant cost elimination and supply chain streamlining have played a central role in driving earnings growth for P&G, Unilever and Kimberly Clark, among others, underscoring the challenge of growth in a tepid economic environment,” said Kevin Cassidy, a Vice President and Senior Officer at Moody’s.
Moody’s anticipates that growth in emerging countries such as Brazil and Russia will stabilise next year, after contracting this year.
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
