Mondelēz’s 2020 results boosted by performance in developed markets

Mondelēz International has reported a 2.8% increase in net revenue for 2020, as the company was boosted by its performance in developed markets.

The owner of Cadbury and Oreo recorded net revenue of $26.58 billion for the year, while net earnings attributable to the company decreased to $3.56 billion on a non-adjusted basis.

Mondelēz says that the rise in net revenue was primarily driven by organic net revenue growth of 3.7% and incremental sales from its acquisitions of Perfect Snacks and Give & Go, partially offset by unfavourable currency impacts.

In North America, the company reported net revenue growth of 14.8% for 2020, while its Europe unit saw a 2.4% revenue increase. However, Mondelēz’s Latin America and Asia, Middle East and Africa units recorded declines in net revenue of 17.9% and 0.5%, respectively.

Organic net revenue grew in all four regions, but was weaker in the company’s emerging markets. This contrasts to Mondelēz’s 2019 full-year results, when the company was helped by its performance in emerging markets.

“2020 was a successful year for Mondelēz International and I am proud of our performance, including record share gains, in a challenging operating environment. Our categories were resilient, with the exception of gum which represented 5% of our revenue in 2020,” said Dirk Van de Put, Mondelēz chairman and CEO.

Van de Put continued: “We made meaningful progress with our strategic agenda in 2020, continuing to increase investment in brands and capabilities, simplifying our portfolio, expanding into adjacent categories and making acquisitions in high-growth areas of snacking. We moved quickly to mitigate incremental Covid-related costs and delivered on our commitment to generate strong cash flow.”

Mondelēz delivered fourth-quarter revenue and earnings ahead of Wall Street estimates, according to Reuters. The company reported 5.6% growth in net revenue for Q4 2020, with its North America unit seeing a particularly strong performance.

Van de Put added: “We enter 2021 in a strong position financially and in the marketplace which gives us confidence that we can deliver on our long-term growth targets in 2021 and beyond.”