Employees of chocolate and cocoa product maker Barry Callebaut prepare chocolates after the company’s annual news conference in Zurich, Switzerland November 7, 2018. REUTERS
Jan 22 (Reuters) – Chocolate maker and cocoa processor Barry Callebaut (BARN.S), on Wednesday ,reported a lower sales volume than expected for its first quarter, hit by customer-retailer pricing negotiations and delayed orders amidst record high cocoa prices.
The Switzerland-based group, which supplies chocolate for Unilever’s (ULVR.L), soon-to-be-spun-off Magnum ice creams and Nestle’s (NESN.S), KitKat bars, said its sales volume fell 2.7% to 565,000 tonnes in the quarter that ended on Nov. 30, compared with analysts’ forecast of 568,000 tonnes in a company-provided consensus.
Reporting by Paolo Laudani in Gdansk; Editing by Milla Nissi
