01/21/2026, 07:4901/21/2026, 07:49
Barry Callebaut sold significantly less chocolate in the first quarter of the 2025/26 financial year than in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The manufacturer suffered from a worldwide dampened desire for chocolate due to high prices. There was also a factory breakdown in Canada.
The reasons for the decline in volume include less chocolate sold.Image: www.imago-images.de
Sales volume fell by a whopping 9.9 percent in the period from September to November 2025, as the world’s largest chocolate company announced on Wednesday. In the important Global Chocolate area, the volume shrank by 6.8 percent and in the Global Cocoa area by 22.0 percent. In absolute numbers, the amount of chocolate sold was 509,401 tons.
Sales rose by 6.4 percent to 3.67 billion francs; in local currency it would have been 8.9 percent. The increase resulted from higher cocoa prices year-on-year. It was said that cocoa prices, which had recently fallen slightly, have now settled at a high level. This gives us confidence for the second half of the year.
The reasons for the decline in volume include less chocolate sold. Consumers temporarily bought less because of the higher prices, explained Barry Callebaut. The strategic decision to focus more on more profitable segments and regions in the Global Cocoa area also contributed to lower sales, it said.
However, when it came to less important sales, the group was significantly higher.Image: KEYSTONE
Barry Callebaut was also troubled by a breakdown at one of its largest production facilities in North America. The plant in Saint-Hyacinthe, Canada, was down for around three weeks in the first quarter. A technical defect in a roasting machine left clear marks on the result.
Worse than expected
With the numbers mentioned, Barry Callebaut missed the AWP consensus, which was -8.7 percent for the important volume figure. However, when it came to less important sales, the group was significantly higher.
Barry Callebaut confirms the outlook for the 2025/26 financial year and expects an operational improvement in the second half of the year, supported by falling cocoa bean prices. Against this background, the group expects a mid-single-digit percentage decline in volume. On the earnings side, Barry Callebaut continues to forecast low- to mid-single-digit growth in recurring EBIT in local currencies and a double-digit increase in recurring profit before tax, while deleveraging continues. (sda/awp)