Mondelez International Inc (NASDAQ:MDLZ), the company behind Oreo cookies and Cadbury chocolate, today announced the resignation of chief executive Irene Rosenfeld alongside a decline in second quarter sales.
Rosenfeld will be replaced by McCain Foods boss, Dirk Van de Put, when she steps down as chief executive in November after 11 years in the role. She will stay on as chairman of the board until March 2018.
Van de Put joins Mondelez at a challenging time for the confectionary firm as consumers become increasingly health conscience.
The group’s second quarter results highlighted this struggle with revenue falling 5% to US$5.98bn, below market forecasts of US$6.0bn.
Organic sales dropped 2.7% year-on-year, driven by a fall in its North American market. Sales in the US edged down 8.5% to US$1.57bn, as fierce price competition weighed.
Mondelez said a global cyber-attack in June was the main reason for the sales decline, interfering with shipments to its stores. The so-called Petya ransomware attack, which disrupted operations at a number of companies, including WPP plc (LON:WPP), Evraz, Rosneft and Reckitt Benckiser Group plc (LON:RB), cut about 2.3% from Mondelez’s net sales in the quarter.
Mondelez lifts dividend, second quarter earnings beat forecasts
But the company raised its dividend by 16% to 22 cents as its earnings beat analysts’ expectations.
Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) was 48 cents, up 11.6% at actual exchange rates or 18.6% at constant currencies, compared to forecasts of 46 cents.
Net income rose to US$498mln, or 31 cents per share on a reported basis, from US$464mln, or 29 cents a share last year.
Full year guidance left unchanged
The company repeated its 2017 guidance for double-digit adjusted EPS growth on a constant-currency basis and expects a 1% increase in organic net sales.
Rosenfeld also said the company was on track for a stronger second half.
The changeover in leadership comes after Mondelez’s failed attempt to buy US chocolate firm Hershey. Mondelez abandoned its takeover plans last year after Hershey turned down its US$23bn cash-and-stock bid.
Shares in the company climbed 0.09% to US$43.66 each in early US trading.