Antoine Fiévet, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Bel Group, said, “Bel was able to navigate with agility and demonstrate its resilience in an economic environment that remained difficult, with a direct impact on consumer spending trends. At the end of September, we saw market share gains in dynamic regions key to our future and reported continued strong organic growth. Despite persistent economic uncertainties, I believe in our ability to continue along our growth path, bolstered by momentum in North America and China, the power of our core brands and MOM’s increasing consumer appeal.”
Bel’s consolidated sales for the first nine months of 2021 totaled €2,567.3 million, down 1.0% on a published basis versus the same period ended September 30, 2020. Unfavorable foreign exchange fluctuations, stemming primarily from the euro’s rise against the U.S. dollar, adversely impacted sales by 2.5%, or €65.8 million. Organic sales growth showed resilience, advancing 1.1% for the period. Excluding the Middle East and North Africa, organic growth came to 4.2%.
In the third quarter of 2021, Bel reported sales of €877 million, up 2.3% on a published basis versus €857 million in the year earlier quarter. Sales grew organically a solid 1.8% against Q3 2020, when the organic growth rate was already high. That performance was driven in particular by strong sales of the GoGo squeeZ® brand. Other core brands Mini Babybel® and Boursin®, buoyed by markets in North America and Western Europe, continued along a strong growth trajectory, on a par with their first half 2021 performances. Bel notably gained market share in the key territories of Western Europe, North America and Asia, demonstrating the relevance of its strategy to diversify in the three complementary markets of dairy, fruit and plant-based foods, as well as underscoring the broad consumer appeal of its products. The sales breakdown by market segment is as follows.