Mondelēz International saw revenue increase by 2.1% in the third quarter, in which it announced a plan of succession for CEO Irene Rosenfeld.
The chocolate company reported net revenue of $6.53 billion and operating income of $1.18 billion – up nearly 70% on a challenging third quarter of 2016. An operating income margin of 18.1% represented an improvement of 710 basis points, equivalent to 7.1%, on the same period last year.
In August, Mondelēz announced that it would replace long-time CEO Irene Rosenfeld with the current boss of McCain Foods, Dirk van de Put. Rosenfeld had been under pressure from investors as the company focused its efforts on cutting costs and failed in a major bid for rival chocolate maker Hershey – what would have been only its second acquisition since it was spun off from Kraft Foods.
She will step down in November, continuing as chairman until she retires in March, meaning that this quarter’s financial results could be her last stand as CEO.
When he takes up the role, Dirk van de Put will welcome Tim Cofer back full-time as chief growth officer; Cofer had, since April, been interim president of Mondelēz’s North American business until the appointment of Glen Walter earlier this month.
The third-quarter results represent a marked improvement on Q2, in which malware-related costs contributed to a 5% decline in revenue.
Rosenfeld said: “We’re pleased with our improving revenue growth, driven by the strength of our ‘power brands’, continued momentum in emerging markets and Europe. We posted another quarter of strong expansion in operating income margin and earnings. We’re making good progress on many of our key strategic initiatives and remain confident in our ability to deliver long-term, sustainable growth on both the top and bottom lines.”
Source: FoodBev
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