July 11 (Reuters) - Swiss chocolate maker Barry Callebaut reported on Thursday slightly higher sales volumes during the nine months ended May despite a surge in cocoa prices putting pressure on demand.
Barry Callebaut's nine-month sales volume grew by 0.4% to 1.71 million tonnes, as expected by analysts.
Sales revenue jumped by 23.1% to 7.32 billion Swiss francs ($8.14 billion), the company said in a statement.
May's cocoa grind in Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa producer, fell by 30% year-on-year to 43,628 metric tons, driving cocoa prices up, data from exporter association GEPEX showed in June.
Climate change, years of insufficient planning and tree diseases have created a perfect storm for farmers in Western Africa, a region which accounts for roughly 70% of global cocoa supplies.
The Zurich-based company, which supplies chocolate for a range of producers including industry leaders such as Unilever and Nestle, said sales volumes were down 0.3% in the third quarter.
Barry Callebaut confirmed its full-year 2023/24 guidance of flat volume and flat EBIT growth in a "highly challenging supply and demand environment", according to the statement.
($1 = 0.8991 Swiss francs)
Reporting by Mateusz Dobrzyniewski and Andrey Sychev, Editing by Rachel More
Source: Reuters