Douwe Egberts parent loses Russia and profits

Net profit halved at JDE Peet’s (the owner of brands like Douwe Egberts and L’Or), but the company remains confident, saying the second half of the year was very strong.

Less coffee and tea

In 2023, JDE Peet’s stopped selling its international brands in Russia, leading to a write-off on its Russian operations. This meant that net profit halved from 761 to 364 million euros last year, even though the group still continues to offer its local coffee and tea brands in Russia.

Sales rose less than 1 % to 8.2 billion euros, disappointing analysts and shareholders alike. In Europe, where the group earns more than half of sales, there was a 4 % rise in turnover – completely thanks to price increases, as volume went down 2.4 %.

Better second half

Adjusted operating profit clocked in at 1.13 billion euros, in line with the company’s forecasts. CEO Fabien Simon had already revised profit expectations downwards after the first half of the year, due to the Russian withdrawal, and assumed a slight rise or fall: it ended up being the latter.

However, Simon called the second half of the year very strong. In 2024, JDE Peet’s expects to grow further, with an organic sales growth around 3 %. Excluding Russia, the coffee giant is counting on some 5 % more operating profit this year.