Finnish food group Raisio has reported a 3.3% drop in net sales for the period between January and June 2018.
Comparable net sales for the period amounted to €110 million and the EBIT was €13 million.
Net sales in the group's Healthy Food Division added up to €96 million, while Raisioaqua's net sales amounted to €13 million
Net sales in 'Other' operations totalled €0.7 million.
The Healthy Food Division accounted for around 88% of the group's net sales for the period, with Raisioaqua accounting for 12% of net sales.
A New Beginning For Raisio
Raisio's president and CEO Pekka Kuusniemi feels that the period marked a new beginning for the company, which is now focussed on healthy and responsibly produced food.
"We have identified problem areas regarding the businesses where net sales and profitability development do not meet expectations and started corrective actions. We have set an ambitious but realistic recovery schedule for these businesses," he added.
Raisio launched new Benecol products in the UK, Finland, and Poland in the first half of the year. Marketing investment in Benecol has also been increased, which impacted its EBIT performance in the period, according to Kuusniemi.
Changes In Organisational Structure
Earlier this month Raisio announced the resignation of its chief financial officer, Antti Elevuori.
In May this year, the company sold Raisioagro’s cattle feed business to Lantmännen Agro Oy. According to Kuusniemi, this sale marked "an important step towards Raisio’s strategy focusing on healthy foods."
In December last year, the company sold its confectionery operations in the UK and the Czech Republic to Valeo Foods Group.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
