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:: In 2011, Danone was once again right on target for growth in sales, operating margin and free cash flow.
Sales showed robust growth over the year, rising 7.8% at constant scope of consolidation and exchange rates. This was partly due to the Waters division’s outstanding performance, with sales up 15.7% over the year. For Fresh Dairy Products, emerging economies in Latin America, Asia and the Middle East continued to drive growth, and the year saw critical progress in two countries: Russia, where Danone and Unimilk combined their operations, and the United States, where we rolled out the Oikos Greek yogurt line. Finally, Baby Nutrition and Medical Nutrition continued to deliver strong, steady growth.
WE RAISED EBIT MARGIN BY 20 BASIS POINTS, like for like—a strong showing that is all the more impressive in a challenging environment that saw raw material prices rise by around 10%. Contributing factors included vigorous sales growth, constant cost-cutting efforts and selective price rises in many countries.
FREE CASH FLOW CONTINUED TO HEAD UP, rising a steep 9.4% from 2010 to total €1.874 billion and putting us well on the way to our 2012 target of €2 billion.
FINALLY, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN DANONE’S HISTORY, EMERGING COUNTRIES accounted for over half of our total business, generating the lion’s share of growth in sales and operating profit. In so doing, they laid the foundations for an increasingly sound group positioned to seize growth opportunities in 2012 and the years beyond.
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