Mondelēz grows sales despite cyber-attack

Sales grew 2.1% to £4.9bn ($6.5bn) in the three months to September 30, compared with the same time last year. Gross profit for the manufacturer grew 2.6% to £1.89bn (£2.5bn).

Mondelēz attributed its growth to the strength of its leading brands – including Oreo, Cadbury Dairy Milk and Milka chocolate – and a strong performance in Europe.

Chairman and ceo Irene Rosenfeld said: “We’re pleased with our improving revenue growth, driven by the strength of our power ​[leading] 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.”​

Quarter of strong expansion​

Sales in Europe were up 4.7% to £1.8bn ($2.4bn), while Mondelēz’s leading brands contributed £3.56bn ($4.7bn) towards the group’s total revenue for the quarter.

However, the confectionery manufacturer’s profits for the year were hit by a cyber-attack in June,​ which crippled a significant portion of its global sales, distribution and financial networks.

The company estimated that the malware incident had a negative impact of 2.3% on its net revenue growth and 2.4% on its organic net revenue growth.

Mondelēz incurred incremental expenses of £35.5M ($47M) as a result of the incident in the three months and £40.8M ($54M) in the nine months ended September 30.

Additional lost revenue for the year​

In its quarterly statement, Mondelēz said: “While the company is pleased with its recovery efforts following the malware incident, restoring our North America systems has taken longer, resulting in additional lost revenue for the year.​

“The company expects to incur additional incremental expenses related to the incident and recovery process during the fourth quarter of 2017.”​

Meanwhile, last week, Mondelēz won a three-month legal battle with discount retailer Poundland over the design of the retailer’s Twin Peaks chocolate bar.

The chocolate bar, which bears a resemblance to Mondelēz’s own Toblerone bar, must have its shape modified if Poundland wishes to continue producing it.