"The last fiscal year was characterized by exceptional and unprecedented volatility in the cocoa and chocolate markets, which impacted both Barry Callebaut and our customers," Peter Feld , CEO of the Barry Callebaut Group, one of the world's leading chocolate giants, formed in 1996 from the merger of Belgian chocolate maker Callebaut and French confectionery company Cacao Barry and now headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, said somewhat preemptively when presenting the results for the full year, the 2024/25 fiscal year.

The fiscal year closed with a 6.8% decrease in sales volume, "in line with expectations," with Global Chocolate down 5.3% and Global Cocoa down 12.8%. The official press release emphasizes that these declines are primarily due to changes in consumer behavior, declining consumption, and the strategy adopted to prioritize returns in the Global Cocoa sector.

"We took decisive action in the second half of the year," Feld added, "to improve cash generation and significantly reduce leverage, particularly by adapting our cocoa operating model to prioritize returns and implementing a group-wide sales and operations planning process. At the same time, we are advancing our BC Next Level investment program with tangible results, moving closer to markets and our customers, and simplifying and digitalizing the company. These efforts are strengthening our resilience and laying the foundation for further debt reduction in 2025/26."

A closer look at the financial results of the company, which, along with Olam Agri, Cargill, Ecom Agriindustrial Corporation, and Touton, is one of the world's leading cocoa traders and processors, reveals a significant increase in cocoa-related prices, which led to a 49% increase in sales revenues to 14.8 billion Swiss francs, equivalent to nearly 16 billion euros.

Recurring operating profit (EBIT) rose by 6.4% while recurring net profit fell by 35.9% because, the official note explains, "the reduction in volumes and investments in digital and in the ability to manage disruptions offset the additional costs, mix and BC Next Level savings" still determining a "significant improvement in the second half".

Decisive actions, the official note continues, "have reduced financial leverage to 4.5x Net Debt/Recurring EBITDA (compared to 6.5x in the first half) with significant free cash flow generation of 1.802 billion Swiss francs in the second half (-312 million Swiss francs in the year).

The company has reported "solid progress on the BC Next Level program, with most initiatives already implemented and resulting in significant savings." The company also highlights "enhanced customer experience and accelerated customer-relevant innovations across its chocolate solutions portfolio, including the new long-term commercial partnership with PlanetA Foods (ChoViva) for non-cocoa solutions."

The outlook speaks of "a clear focus for the 2025/26 financial year on deleveraging below 3.5x Net Debt/EBITDA and preparation for a return to growth, with the first half "still under pressure and improvements in the second half".

The Global Chocolate segment is expected to experience a mid-single-digit decline in volumes. Focus on ROIC in the Global Cocoa segment, resulting in a volume decline of between 5% and 9%. Consequently, Group volumes are expected to decline by between 3% and 7%, linked to bean price trends impacting the prioritization of returns in the Global Cocoa segment. The statement concludes that recurring EBIT growth is expected to be between 2% and 5%, with double-digit growth in recurring pre-tax profit in local currencies.

"We are preparing Barry Callebaut to return to growth," said Feld , "resolutely pursuing our goal of becoming our customers' trusted advisor and preferred partner. The improvement in our NetPromoter Score (NPS) compared to a year ago demonstrates that we are on the right track. Our path forward is clear: we will be a leader in chocolate, grow in cocoa coatings (compound solutions), and launch non-cocoa solutions, such as the partnership announced today with Planet A Foods (ChoViva), which will further strengthen our resilience."