Although inflation reached 5.9% in March in one year, are the margins of food manufacturers as comfortable as Bercy and distributors denounce? For now, these indicators remain fairly preserved on the side of the giants in the sector. In fact, the latter have maintained their “pricing power” with a slight reduction in their margin.
At Nestlé, the recurring current operating margin thus reached 17.1%, a slightly lower figure of 0.3% in one year. However, the group registered a strong rise in its prices: almost 10% on average in the first quarter.
At Unilever, which has close to 400 brands such as Amora, Carte d’Or or Cif, the margin fell by just over 2% to 16.1%. But here too, manufacturer prices have risen by an average of 10%.
A margin of more than 30% for Coca-Cola
On the side of the giant Coca-Cola and its 500 brands, the operating margin also shows a slight drop, to 30.7% compared to 32.5% last year. But its net sales rose 5% in the first quarter, driven in particular by price increases of 11%.
For its part, the tricolor multinational Danone maintains a current operating margin of 12.2%. However, dairy farmers are not concerned about the renegotiation request made by Bercy so as not to put pressure on farmers.
Source: BFM TV
