Barry Callebaut lowers annual targets again due to cocoa bean prices
The world's biggest chocolatier, which supplies key food producers such as KitKat maker Nestle (NESN.S), opens new tab, expects its sales volume to fall by 7% in the year ending on August 31.
It had previously said it expected the cocoa sales volume to fall by a mid-single-digit percentage due to volatility in cocoa bean prices that trade in London at around 5,455 pounds per metric ton .
Its shares were down 2.8% at 0618 GMT in premarket, with analysts flagging concerns that the management's low visibility and another profit warning could hurt the investment case and fail to reassure investors on the difficult environment.
The low visibility "could also raise question about the company's management information system", analyst Matteo Lindauer from Vontobel said.
Despite London cocoa futures falling to an eight-month low on Monday on expectations of a rise in production in South America, industry sources told Reuters that the key West African cocoa producing region was likely to see a 10% decline in the upcoming 2025/26 season.
Barry Callebaut also lowered its operating earnings target, saying they would rise by a mid to high single-digit percentage in constant currency this year. In April, it had guided for a double-digit rise.
Its sales volume was 1.6 million tonnes in the nine months to the end of May, meeting analysts' average forecast in a company-provided poll, even as they fell 9.5% year-on-year in the third quarter of the financial year.
Despite this, revenue increased by a half during the nine-month period, as the chocolatier passed on raw material costs to its customers.
(This story has been corrected to say the company has cut its guidance three, not two, times this year, in paragraph 1)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
38 minutes ago
- Reuters
FTSE 100 closes at record high as investors assess earnings and US-Japan trade deal
July 23 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 rose on Wednesday to a record close for a third straight session, helped by positive corporate updates, while a U.S.-Japan trade deal also boosted global sentiment. The benchmark FTSE 100 (.FTSE), opens new tab closed up 0.4% at 9,061.49 points. The domestically oriented midcap FTSE 250 (.FTMC), opens new tab also gained 0.4%. U.S. President Donald Trump struck a trade deal with Japan, lowering tariffs on auto imports and sparing Tokyo from punishing new levies on other goods in exchange for a $550 billion package of U.S.-bound investment and loans. The UK's automobiles and parts index (.FTNMX401010), opens new tab rose 2.5%, tracking strength in Asian rivals. Aston Martin (AML.L), opens new tab and Dowlais Group (DWL.L), opens new tab gained 8.1% and 1.2%, respectively. Healthcare stocks (.FTNMX201030), opens new tab rose 2.5%, with AstraZeneca (AZN.L), opens new tab and GSK (GSK.L), opens new tab gaining 3.1% and 1.8% respectively. Medical equipment and services (.FTNMX201020), opens new tab rose 1.5%, with a boost from Smith+Nephew (SN.L), opens new tab, up 1.8%. Media stocks (.FTNMX403010), opens new tab advanced 2.2%, boosted by Informa's (INF.L), opens new tab 4.9% rise after the events and academic publishing group raised its annual underlying revenue growth forecast. Conversely, construction and materials (.FTNMX501010), opens new tab stocks lost 1.5%, with Breedon Group (BREE.L), opens new tab down 7.5%, after the company forecast annual results at the low end of market expectations. In company news, Alpha Group (ALPH.L), opens new tab hit a record high and was last up 25.6% after U.S. payments firm Corpay (CPAY.N), opens new tab said it would buy the financial services provider in a $2.2 billion (1.6 billion pounds) cash deal. Hochschild Mining (HOCM.L), opens new tab rose 7.6% on stronger-than-expected quarterly silver output. J D Wetherspoon (JDW.L), opens new tab gained 1.9% after the pub group reported a rise in sales in recent weeks since May. British stocks have rallied this year, pushing the FTSE 100 to all-time highs in recent weeks, as hopes of interest rate cuts, optimism over the UK-U.S. trade deal and a surge in commodity prices lifted sentiment. Traders are currently pricing in an 89% chance of a 25 basis point BoE cut next month, according to data compiled by LSEG. This week, attention is on the UK flash Purchasing Managers' Index for July, due on Thursday, and retail sales data for June on Friday. Meanwhile, India and Britain will sign a free trade agreement on Thursday during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Britain, officials said.
Daily Mail
39 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
German World Economic Forum founder, 87, is accused of bullying staff, filing huge travel expenses and making 'suggestive' remarks to female exec in bombshell internal probe
Founder of the World Economic Forum Klaus Schwab reportedly exhibited a pattern of misconduct during his tenure as the multinational organisation's most senior executive, according to preliminary findings of an internal investigation. The probe was launched by the WEF board in April in response to whistleblower complaints over alleged unauthorised spending, bullying and inappropriate treatment of female staffers by 87-year-old Schwab. It came just two days after the German economist - who denies the claims - stepped down from his role as the Forum's top executive with immediate effect after 55 years over Easter weekend. Preliminary findings from the probe are said to have found evidence that Schwab had acted inappropriately in his role, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal based on documents and interviews with people familiar with the investigation. Interviews conducted amid the probe reportedly found that Schwab repeatedly used fear and intimidation to manipulate WEF employees and treated the organisation like a 'fiefdom', while making 'suggestive' remarks to a senior female executive. The findings also allege spending malpractice by his wife Hilde Schwab, 79, who reportedly filed more than $1 million in travel expenses deemed questionable by investigators, along with several foreign trips seemingly unrelated to business. Schwab, through an intermediary, rejected the probe's preliminary findings, according to WSJ. 'Throughout this journey, Hilde and I never used the Forum for personal enrichment,' Schwab said in a written statement. MailOnline has contacted WEF for comment. Founded by Schwab in 1971 as the European Management Forum, WEF began as a small gathering aimed at improving European business by enlisting the support of successful American corporations. Over the decades, it has transformed into a high-profile annual summit in Davos, Switzerland, where CEOs, leading entrepreneurs and minds from various sectors converge to debate the world's biggest challenges, from climate change and technological disruption to geopolitical instability and inequality. It has also been harshly criticised as a symbol of globalisation and an exclusive club for the wealthy and powerful that exercises outsized power over policymakers. The probe was launched by the WEF after the WSJ published allegations that the Schwab family had long mixed their personal affairs with Forum resources. The Forum said its board - which includes former US Vice President Al Gore, Jordan's Queen Rania and European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde as members - agreed to a decision by its risk and audit committee to open the probe. The allegations emerged days after Schwab's retirement as WEF chairman and his replacement by former Nestle Chairman and CEO Peter Brabeck-Letmathe. Homburger, a Swiss law firm enlisted to lead the probe, is expected to weigh Schwab's response before finalising its findings and presenting recommendations to WED trustees by the end of August. According to people familiar with the process, the full board of trustees will then submit the report to Swiss regulators who oversee nonprofits for further investigation, and may also decide to hand over details to prosecutors. Meanwhile, Schwab's representatives confirmed to the Financial Times that the 87-year-old has filed a criminal complaint against the whistleblowers' 'stupid and constructed' allegations. The bombshell allegations brought against Schwab come off the back of mounting speculation over the purpose of the yearly WEF summit in the Swiss Alps. The organisation bills itself as the world's leading forum for 'public-private cooperation' and stresses its commitment to 'facilitating progress on systemic challenges... upholding the highest standards of governance and moral and intellectual integrity'. But detractors say the summit is little more than a networking event for the world's wealthiest corporate leaders and political decision-makers which serves only to increase the influence of private companies to shape public policy. In 2024 - the year WEF's summit was focused around 'rebuilding trust', Oxfam released a report highlighting wealth inequality continues to grow. The report released in January last year pointed out that the combined fortunes of the world's five richest men had more than doubled to $869 billion since 2020, while five billion people have been made poorer. It estimated that 148 top corporations made $1.8 trillion in profits, 52 per cent up on the 3-year average, allowing hefty pay-outs to shareholders even as millions of workers faced a cost-of-living crisis as inflation led to wage cuts in real terms. 'This inequality is no accident; the billionaire class is ensuring corporations deliver more wealth to them at the expense of everyone else,' said Oxfam International interim Executive Director Amitabh Behar. Tales of debauchery and excess in Davos have also been widely reported. Escort agencies revealed the demand for prostitutes and sex parties around the conference has increased dramatically in recent years, with event attendees stipulating that their sex workers must sign NDAs. 'Since the start of the WEF, we've seen around 300 women and trans women booked in Davos and the surrounding area,' Andreas Berger, spokesman for Titt4tat, told MailOnline earlier this year, versus 140 women the year prior. 'What has changed is that a lot of women in and around Davos now have to sign NDAs [non-disclosure agreements.'
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Home Office plan to share asylum hotel locations with food delivery firms is 'pointless' and will be 'ineffective' at stopping migrants working illegally, lawyers say
A Government plan to crack down on illegal migrant delivery riders by sharing the location of asylum hotels with food delivery companies is 'pointless' and 'ineffective', immigration lawyers warned today. The Home Office yesterday struck up a new agreement with Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats, where officials will share information about hotels in high-risk areas to help delivery companies uncover illegal working and suspend accounts. It comes after it was revealed how asylum seekers in taxpayer-funded hotels were raking in hundreds as delivery riders within days of crossing the Channel illegally on small boats. The scheme is aimed at stopping delivery riders sharing their accounts with migrants who do not have the right to work in the UK. Asylum seekers are not allowed to work for the first 12 months of being in the UK or until their application is approved. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the Labour party were taking 'decisive action to close loopholes and increase enforcement'. But, immigration lawyers today questioned how effective the crackdown will be as they called for a 'much tougher approach' over this 'blunt tool'. Emma Brooksbank, an immigration partner at Freeths, told MailOnline the agreement is 'expected to be ineffective'. She added: 'The intention is that Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats will quickly cancel accounts which are noted to be repeatedly active in high-risk areas, around asylum seeker hotels. 'It will not be difficult for illegal workers to bypass this restriction and avoid detection, thereby making the agreed data sharing pointless.' Ms Brooksbank said the 'gig ecomony operators are largely unregulated' and have 'no real incentive to clean up their act'. She added: 'The simple fact is that gig economy companies do not know who is using their app, and who is engaging with their customers under their brand name, making illegal work easy, effortless, and undetectable, which acts as a draw for illegal migrants to continue to arrive in small boats from France. The Government needs to take a much tougher approach, she said, suggesting companies must be held responsible and heavily fined for 'facilitating illegal work'. Angela Sharma, a barrister at Church Court Chambers, agreed telling MailOnline: 'Sharing information about the locations of asylum hotels may help identify hotspots where illegal working is more prevalent, but it's a blunt tool. 'The real issue lies in the ease with which delivery accounts can be sublet and exploited. Without stricter enforcement on platform verification and stronger deterrents for account sharing, this remains a systemic loophole. 'A tougher, more targeted approach that also holds companies accountable is needed to genuinely tackle the problem.' Sacha Wooldridge, partner and head of immigration at Birketts LLP, said data sharing 'will presumably enable stronger enforcement of penalties against those found to be acting unlawfully' and 'enable targeted police resourcing to higher crime locations'. But she added: 'If companies are already checking all drivers and substitute drivers on a daily basis, knowing the location of the hotels isn't likely to have a material impact.' And Victoria Welsh, partner and head of business immigration at Taylor Rose, said although the move is 'positive', the issue is 'wider than simply restricting access to legal employment.' Insisting the new scheme will bring about change, Home Secretary Ms Cooper said last night: 'Illegal working undermines honest business, exploits vulnerable individuals and fuels organised immigration crime. 'By enhancing our data sharing with delivery companies, we are taking decisive action to close loopholes and increase enforcement. 'The changes come alongside a 50% increase in raids and arrests for illegal working under the Plan for Change, greater security measures and tough new legislation.' Last month it emerged that migrants living in taxpayer-funded asylum hotels – including those who arrived by small boat – are securing work as fast food delivery riders within hours of entering Britain. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said he had found evidence of asylum seekers breaking rules which bar them from working while their claim is processed by the Home Office. The Tory politician visited an asylum hotel in central London and posted a video showing bicycles fitted with delivery boxes for Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats parked outside. Days later, the Home Office said it had called in all three companies for a dressing down – and the meeting led to pledges to introduce 'facial recognition' systems on rider apps, such as those used by banks to confirm someone's identity. However, Deliveroo was refused access to hotel location data despite assurances it would be treated confidentially, the Times reported. Shadow Home Office minister Katie Lam said at the time: 'The fact that the Home Office is refusing to help them just shows how topsy-turvy this country's approach to migration has become. 'Crossing the Channel illegally is a crime. Working here illegally is a crime. 'Too many people are brazenly breaking the rules and it's a disgrace that the Home Office is aiding and abetting them.' Eddy Montgomery, Director of Enforcement, Compliance and Crime at the Home Office, said: 'This next step of co-ordinated working with delivery firms will help us target those who seek to work illegally in the gig economy and exploit their status in the UK. 'My teams will continue to carry out increased enforcement activity across the UK and I welcome this additional tool to disrupt and stop the abuse of our immigration system.' The Government has also announced the trialling of AI-powered facial recognition technology to determine whether Channel migrants are being wrongly identified as children. The Home Office announced testing on new technology will begin later this year with the hope it could be fully integrated into the asylum system in 2026. Ministers admitted that assessing the age of asylum seekers is 'an incredibly complex and difficult task' but said AI might soon provide quick and cost-effective results. More than 23,000 migrants have crossed the Channel so far this year, up more than 50 per cent on the same point last year and the highest number in the first six months since figures began in 2018. The Home Office says there are 32,345 asylum seekers being put up at taxpayer expense in hotels, with another 66,683 in houses and flats.
