Lindt & Sprüngli has reduced its full-year organic sales outlook, pointing to the impact of higher prices and weaker consumer volumes.
The Swiss chocolate group now expects organic sales to range from flat to a 2% increase for the year. Its previous guidance had called for growth of between 4% and 6%.
The revision reflects “subdued consumer sentiment and increased price sensitivity”, which resulted in order volumes falling short of expectations in several European markets, Lindt said on 29 September.
Germany, Switzerland and Austria were among the countries most affected. The weakness was particularly evident across the company’s seasonal product ranges, including those sold under its Lindor brand.
Lindt also attributed part of the pressure on European sales to an “unprecedented heatwave”.
Despite the downgrade to its revenue outlook, the confectionery manufacturer retained its guidance for the 2026 EBIT margin. It continues to forecast an improvement of 20 to 40 basis points compared with the previous year.
Lindt CEO Adalbert Lechner said: “As cocoa prices have eased from historical highs, we expect cost pressure to gradually normalise in the coming months.
“We are confident that our adjusted pricing strategy, increased brand investments, innovations, and ongoing cost savings will materialise, and that demand will improve, contributing to a positive volume growth in 2027.
“This will be supported by our strong balance sheet and ongoing robust free cash flow generation.”
Lechner said trading in markets outside Europe continued to provide support, highlighting “robust” performance in major markets such as North America and Asia.
The group also confirmed its medium- and long-term objectives from 2028 onwards. These include organic sales growth of 6% to 8% and annual EBIT margin expansion of between 20 and 40 basis points.
The updated 2026 forecast follows the company’s disclosure of declining first-half volumes as it implemented price increases across its portfolio.
Volume and mix at the Ghirardelli owner declined by 7.5% during the first six months of 2026, after falling 6.6% in 2025.
When Lindt released its first-half results in July, Lechner said the company was expecting “flat volumes” during the second half of the year.
Europe represented almost half of Lindt’s first-half revenue, which totalled SFr2.33bn ($2.86bn). An 11.8% increase in pricing helped the group generate organic sales growth of 4.3% during the period.
To support volume stabilisation during the second half, Lindt is placing greater emphasis on smaller pack formats, targeted price reductions in selected European markets and the opening of additional retail stores.
The company plans to publish its 2027 financial guidance in the first quarter of next year.
In response to a request from Just Food for clarification on the company’s pricing plans, a Lindt spokesperson said the strategy would not necessarily result in widespread price cuts.
“Looking ahead, our adjusted pricing strategy does not imply broad-based price reductions. Rather, we will continue to take a targeted and market-specific approach, supported by easing cocoa prices, promotional activity and ongoing brand investments,” the spokesperson said.
“We are seeing encouraging initial effects from the targeted measures implemented in recent months, including selective price adjustments, price-pack architecture changes and promotional support, but these measures are taking longer than anticipated to fully translate into volume recovery.
“We have already implemented targeted price adjustments in selected markets, particularly Germany, Switzerland and Austria, and are seeing positive early trends where these measures have been introduced.”