Chocolate manufacturer - Ritter Sport: "Turbulent year" and slight growth
Chocolate manufacturer Ritter Sport reported slight growth in 2023 despite difficult conditions. "2023 was a turbulent year," Managing Director Andreas Ronken told the German Press Agency. Nevertheless, the company from Waldenbuch (Böblingen district) will record slight sales growth at the end of the year, albeit slightly less than in the previous year. In 2022, Ritter Sport's turnover had risen by seven percent to 538 million euros.
"I'm not jumping for joy either"
Cocoa and sugar prices are at a very high level and are the biggest cost drivers within the company. Ronken did not want to comment in detail on the result. At the end of the year, however, the family business will be in the black. "The result doesn't give me a headache, but I'm not jumping for joy either," said Ronken.
2024 will not be a quiet year either, said the Managing Director, referring to cocoa and sugar prices, where there is no sign of any easing so far. He is also concerned about climate change, as this will have a huge impact on agriculture. "Whether we like it or not," said Ronken. "We will have to deal with the fact that nature is no longer as it used to be and that there will be more capricious weather." In future, for example, we will have to deal more with the availability of cocoa or other ingredients.
Slight decline in sales in Russia
Russia will continue to be the largest sales market after Germany in 2023, but sales there will decline slightly. "We are continuing to look for alternatives in our international business in order to reduce the importance of the Russian market for our business and supply chain," said Ronken. Business in China, which started during the coronavirus pandemic, is picking up a little, albeit still "on a low flame". Otherwise, the chocolate manufacturer has great ambitions in the USA, but the ground still needs to be prepared for this.
Following the start of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine in February 2022,Ritter Sport came under heavy criticism for continuing to supply chocolate to Russia. The company had justified the move by citing the impact on production, which would ultimately also affect cocoa farmers in West Africa and Central and South America. The company decided to stop investing in the Russian market, to stop advertising and to donate the profits from Russia to humanitarian aid organizations.
After 1.5 million euros in the last financial year, the profit and therefore the donation in this financial year will be 940,000 euros according to current calculations, said Ronken.
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Source: www.stern.de
