Cadbury’s owner bounces back after ransomware attack

Cadbury’s owner Mondelēz International has bounced back from a major cyber attack to report strong third quarter revenues.

The US company was one of the many victims of the worldwide ransomware attack in June. It said afterwards that it expected to take a 3% hit to its Q2 performance as a result of the attack, which impacted production in Australia.

In its latest Q3 announcement, the company said net revenues had increased 2.1% over the period, driven by organic growth and currency tailwinds. Organic net revenue increased 2.8% as the result of a strong performance from its Power Brands as well as strong performance in Europe and emerging markets.

The company also reaped the benefits from delayed shipments that were shunted into Q3 as the company recovered from the malware incident.

Irene Rosenfeld, chairman and CEO, said: “Q3 was a good quarter on both the top and bottom lines. Organic net revenue 2.8% fuelled marginally by the strength of our Power Brands improving momentum in emerging markets and strong performance in Europe.

“We estimate that our top-line results included a benefit of approximately 60 basis points associated with recovery from the malware incident as we recaptured some delayed shipments from the end of Q2.”

So far as the bottom line was concerned, she said the group had delivered a quarter of strong adjusted operating income margin expansion and double digit adjusted EPS growth.

“We’re pleased with the underlying growth drivers. Our Power Brands grew 3.8%, significantly outpacing the category with Milka and Cadbury Dairy Milk in chocolate and Oreo and belVita in biscuits performing especially well,” she added.

The chocolate division was especially strong, with all its largest markets performing well.

A sponsorship deal between Cadbury’s and the Premier League proving especially lucrative.

“In Germany, we expanded market share on a year-to-date basis with distribution gains and the solid performance of Milka. And in the UK, our Cadbury sponsorship of the Premier League also drove strong share gains,” added Ms Rosenfeld.