Danone sells yoghurt worth over 125m euros

Danone Romania, the largest yoghurt producer, boasting an over 60% market share locally, posted an around 17% turnover increase in euros last year, compared with results recorded in the previous year. Sales of Danone Romania amounted to 125-130 million euros last year, according to ZF estimates based on average euro exchange rates of the last few years. “In 2008, Danone Romania posted an around 17-18% turnover rise in euros against the previous year,” said company representatives. The biggest sales increases were recorded by Nutriday, Activia, Actimel and Danonino. “On the dessert segment, the rise was lower, of 10-12%, but in line with our expectations, considering that competition tightened last year after the entry of new players onto the market,” explained representatives of Danone Romania. For this year, Danone officials expect a slowdown in the turnover growth rate of between 14 and 18%, compared with results recorded in 2008, amid a reduction in the growth rate of the entire dairy industry. “As of the last quarter of 2008, the dairy market growth rate has almost halved. While the local dairy industry would normally record a 16-20% monthly growth rate, in the last three months of 2008 the growth rate was of 10 to 12%,” said Danone representatives.