Lindt reiterates growth target as pricing supports half-year sales

By Paolo Laudani and Basile Day

July 21 (Reuters) - Swiss chocolate maker Lindt & Spruengli said its half-year sales grew 4.3% organically, at the lower end of its target range for full-year growth, buoyed by hikes in product prices and growth in North America.

The chocolatier's organic sales rose to 2.33 billion Swiss francs ($2.88 billion) in the six-month period. It had in March forecast organic growth of 4% to 6% for the year, which it reiterated on Tuesday.

However, analysts at Bernstein said the results might reinforce the fears of some investors that the annual guidance might not be achievable as benefits from price increases fade, implying a slowdown in growth for the second half.

A key question for Lindt is how fast it can grow in 2027, Vontobel analysts said, adding the answer depends on customer behaviour once pricing normalises and cocoa cost pressure subsides.

The company, which raised its selling prices by 11.8% in the first half compared to a year before, said geopolitical uncertainties and market volatility had weighed on consumer sentiment and tourism flows especially in Europe.

Tourism is particularly important for the chocolate bunny maker whose products are sold at airports and in major tourist destinations such as London, Paris and Vienna.

Lindt's shares opened 1.4% higher.

COCOA CROP AND EL NIÑO

Lindt's Chief Financial Officer Martin Hug told a press call that even without El Niño, the next cocoa crop would not be as strong as the current one.

Earlier in July, the United Nations weather agency raised its forecast for the rapid emergence of a strong El Niño, a meteorological phenomenon particularly risky for cocoa.

"We also believe ... chocolate demand will likely go up in terms of volumes. So that means that the next couple of crops, we are not expecting such a big surplus as we have seen in this current crop," Hug said.

($1 = 0.8099 Swiss francs)

(Reporting by Paolo Laudani and Basile Day in Gdansk, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)