Lindt reported a surge in full-year sales after its purchase of Russell Stover Candies gave the chocolate producer access to more US consumers.
The stock rose to a new 25-year high after the company posted revenue of 3.39 billion Swiss francs ($3.34 billion), a 17 per cent gain. Analysts expected 3.2 billion francs, the average of estimates in a Bloomberg survey.
It’s "hard to believe such growth rates, especially when considering the tough market environment,” Jean-Philippe Bertschy, an analyst at Bank Vontobel AG in Zurich, said.
Russell Stover, the largest US maker of boxed chocolate, will boost the Swiss company’s revenue from North America beyond $1.5 billion in 2015, Lindt said last year.
The acquisition of the closely held company, completed in September, propelled Lindt further past fourth-place Nestle SA (NESN) in the North American chocolate market, with an eight percent share, according to Euromonitor data.
Sales gained 9.8 per cent excluding acquisitions and currency shifts, the Kilchberg, Switzerland-based chocolatier said in a statement, adding it grew much more quickly than the overall chocolate markets. Analysts expected 8.4 percent organic sales growth.
News by Bloomberg, edited by ESM
