Lindt Expects Earnings To Fall During Year Of Transition

Premium chocolate maker Lindt & Sprüngli has reported organic sales growth of 5.8% for 2008 but warned that it will not achieve its long-term financial targets in 2009 due to slowing sales growth. The firm has cut its annual target for organic growth to 2-5% from 6-8% and set an earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) target of CHF260-280mn (which compares to a figure of CHF361mn in 2008). It expects its earnings to fall due to restructuring and increased marketing spend, which is deemed necessary to maintain its market share at a time when consumers are trading down to lower

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