Danone keeps its guidance as Q2 sales beat expectations

[PARIS] Danone expressed confidence about the second half of 2026 after its second-quarter sales beat forecasts, due to a recovery at its specialised nutrition unit that had been hit by a recall of European baby formula products and supply disruptions related to the Iran war.

The French consumer goods group, whose brands include Evian and Badoit water and Activia yoghurt, said second-quarter sales rose 4.2 per cent on a like-for-like basis, compared with expectations of 3.7 per cent in a company-provided analysts’ consensus.

Danone reported overall prices rose about 2.3 per cent in the second quarter, while volumes climbed 1.9 per cent.

Danone’s recurring operating income for the first half of 2026 was 1.854 billion euros (US$2.11 billion), with a margin of 13.3 per cent of sales against 13.2 per cent a year ago.

This was slightly above expectations for a 13.25 per cent margin and reflected strong productivity gains that offset pressure from the baby formula recall in Europe and the initial effects of inflation, the statement said.

The first-half performance showed broad-based growth across categories and geographies, reflecting the relevance of the group’s health-focused portfolio, CEO Antoine de Saint-Affrique said.

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“While some areas still require further progress and the environment remains unstable, we enter the second half of the year with confidence that 2026 will be another year of delivery, aligned with our value creation model and mid-term ambitions,” he said.

Danone reiterated its 2026 guidance in line with its mid-term aims of like-for-like sales growth of 3 per cent to 5 per cent, with recurring operating income growing faster than sales. REUTERS