The food manufacturer from Bielefeld is struggling with rising costs.
(Photo: dpa)
Dusseldorf dr In 2022, Oetker again made more sales with pudding, baking ingredients, frozen pizza and cakes. After stagnating business in the previous year, adjusted sales in the food division rose by 5.7 percent to four billion euros. The Bielefeld manufacturer traditionally does not comment on profits.
Oetker boss Albert Christmann is in the process of trimming the family business for efficiency and better returns. Because the pressure on margins remains high. The procurement and energy costs rose sharply in 2022, it said when the figures were announced on Tuesday.
“We have made massive cost savings, while at the same time having to raise our prices. However, they could not cover the enormous unplanned increases in expenditure,” said Christmann, Chairman of the International Management Board of Dr. Oetker. The food industry and trade are criticized for wanting to profit from the inflation crisis by raising prices excessively.
“The negotiations with retailers were and are tough,” explained a spokesman for the Handelsblatt. The company does not want to comment on the details of ongoing talks. The situation on the procurement markets remains challenging: for many product groups, Dr. Oetker continues with limited availability, which will be accompanied by even higher prices. In the case of sugar in particular, Bielefeld expects rising costs – due to climate-related poor harvests and high energy prices.
Massive austerity program is trimmed
The traditional manufacturer, founded in 1891, had announced a massive savings program due to the difficult market situation in autumn: 250 million euros were to be saved every year. Even larger job cuts were no longer taboo, it was said at the time. In the meantime, Dr. Oetker reduced his savings plans – at least for this year. Now there is only talk of savings of 130 million euros. A larger job cuts is also off the table, the spokesman assured. “Instead, we rely on natural fluctuation due to demographic change.”
Thorsten Kleile, Managing Director of the NGG Bielefeld union, welcomed the decision not to lay off workers. Collective bargaining with Dr. Oetker to. Despite the austerity program, significant wage increases are essential for employees in times of inflation, he emphasizes.
The manager wants Dr. Make Oetker more efficient with a savings program.
(Photo: action press)
dr Oetker is currently putting all of its businesses worldwide to the test. In Slovakia, a baking powder and pudding factory with around 70 employees will be closed in the summer. “That was no longer economical,” the company justified the step. In Germany, the food division of Dr. Oetker around 7,000 of the almost 17,000 employees.
The manufacturer does 65 percent of its business abroad. Sales increased in Germany and Europe as a whole. Due to the higher prices, however, sales fell noticeably in some countries, including Italy, Spain, Portugal and Austria. In Eastern Europe, on the other hand, Dr. Oetker increases sales despite giving up business in Russia.
Vegan pizza and muffins
Hobby bakers around the world showed consumer restraint when it came to baking decorations. The USA with its subsidiary Wilton was particularly affected. Coppenrath & Wiese’s deep-frozen pastries achieved 11.7 percent more sales thanks to higher prices. Sheet cakes, rolls and tarts in particular held up well. When it comes to pizza and baking mixes, the Bielefeld company is now also using animal-free alternatives such as a vegan salami pizza or plant-based brownies and muffins.
Overall, Dr. Oetker 2022 the investments slightly back from 136 to 125 million euros. By the end of 2025, however, the investment framework was increased from 500 to 800 million euros. The money should flow into innovative products, digitization of all processes and regenerative energies such as solar systems.
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Despite the tough savings plans, acquisitions are still on the agenda. In March, Dr. Oetker the Belgian bakery and pudding brand Imperial from GB Foods. Nothing was known about the purchase price. In Germany, Dr. Oetker swallow the medium-sized company Galileo.
The company from Trierweiler in Rhineland-Palatinate has around 200 employees. Galileo produces around 3.5 million mini pizzas and frozen finger food a day. These are mainly sold under private label brands.
dr Oetker is the German market leader for frozen pizza. The company wants to strengthen itself with a manufacturer of mini pizzas.
(Photo: imago images/Manfred Segerer)
dr Oetker is the market leader in Germany for frozen pizza. Number two Nestlé (Wagner Pizza) had just announced that it would spin off its dwindling pizza business in Europe into a joint venture with a financial investor. A sensible step for the industry expert Christoph Driver from the OC&C consultancy. The NGG union warns of job cuts at the Wagner plant in Nonnweiler.
To Dr. In addition to the food division, the Oetker Group also includes the Radeberger brewery group, the Flaschenpost delivery service and a number of luxury hotels. The group will not report figures until mid-June.
More: Nestlé outsources pizza business in Europe