Confectionery giant Mondelēz International recorded revenues of $25.89 billion in 2017, representing a drop of 0.1% compared to the previous year, with sales in North America falling by 2.3%.
However, organic revenue saw a slight increase of 0.9%, while operating income margin grew to 13.5%.
The company says that its 'power brands', which include Oreo, Cadbury and Milka, continued to drive growth, as well as its international operations.
"We are pleased with the solid results for 2017," said Brian Gladden, chief financial officer at Mondelēz.
"We delivered a strong year of margin expansion and earnings growth, marking significant progress from four years ago. Our improved top-line performance was fuelled by our power brands and favorable trends in emerging markets."
2018 Outlook
Looking ahead, Mondelēz says that it expects organic net revenue to increase 1-2% in 2018.
"I'm very excited about the opportunities ahead to create value at Mondelēz International," said Dirk Van de Put, the company's new CEO.
"Our 2018 plan reflects an emphasis on execution, ongoing improvements in top-line growth and continuing actions to expand margins."
In a significant management change, Van de Put, former president and CEO of McCain Foods, succeeded long-time chief executive Irene Rosenfeld at the end of last year.
Rosenfeld will continue as chairman of the board until 31 March 2018, at which time she will retire and Van de Put will assume the role of chairman and CEO.
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Sarah Harford. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
