The Christmas season is over and you are probably still thinking about the good resolutions you made a few weeks ago. To exercise more, read more books and eat less sweets. Or something like that.

That giving up sweets can be particularly difficult was once again proven by the business numbers of Swiss premium chocolate manufacturer Lindt & Sprüngli, which were released yesterday.

Double-digit sales growth The company was able to achieve a double-digit sales growth of +10.3 percent in 2023. All regions contributed almost equally to the sales growth: In Europe, the company’s largest market, organic growth of +9.1 percent was achieved, in North America, the second most important region, +11.0 percent and in the „Rest of the World“ region, 12.9 percent.

However, the earnings situation was burdened by rampant inflationary trends: In case you don’t have the chart in front of you right now: The cocoa price, which is important for Lindt & Sprüngli for understandable reasons, almost doubled during the year. At the end of the year, the cocoa price on the London Futures Exchange reached a new all-time high.

Significantly higher cocoa prices The cocoa price has risen for several reasons. On one hand, due to unfavorable weather conditions, pests and diseases, the harvests in the most important cocoa-producing countries Ghana and Ivory Coast have collapsed. On the other hand, the additional demand for chocolate from emerging markets such as China and India has contributed to this excess demand.

Also, the fact that the guaranteed minimum prices for cocoa farmers in Ghana and Ivory Coast have risen has not exactly eased the price situation.

Nevertheless, record results Despite the cost increases, „Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli AG“, the company’s full name, is said to have achieved a new record result in the past fiscal year – not least because the cost increases could be passed on through price increases. So if you’ve been wondering why your beloved chocolate is getting more expensive at the retail store: Here is the explanation.

But the increase in margins was also due to an improved product mix. The trend is towards gift formats, pralines and hollow figures – which allow for significantly higher margins than the sale of „simple“ chocolate.

Increase in margins to a new record level The company is said to have achieved an operating profit margin of around 15.5 percent in the past fiscal year. This corresponds to an increase of 0.5 percentage points compared to the same period of the previous year.

But in the stock market, the future is what counts. Here, the management expects organic sales growth of 6-8 percent and a further improvement in the operating profit margin by 0.2 to 0.4 percentage points for the current year.

Stock only for the super rich Unfortunately, the stock, with a current price of 110,600 Swiss francs, is only for the super rich. But at the extremely elite annual general meeting, you will receive a nice sample case with all the company’s products.