Mondelez CEO Dirk Van de Put stated on Thursday that he expects first-quarter income to be affected by the unfold of the coronavirus, which has kil
Mondelez CEO Dirk Van de Put stated on Thursday that he expects first-quarter income to be affected by the unfold of the coronavirus, which has killed at least 171 people in China and contaminated greater than 8,200 since emerging less than a month ago.
The corporate has already closed two factories close to the epicenter of the outbreak for 10 days to fight the danger of an infection from the virus.
“Up-to-the-minute that the media began to speak lots concerning the coronavirus, we had been promoting out fairly nicely,” Van de Put advised CNBC’s “Closing Bell.”
“Within the final three days earlier than the Chinese language New Yr, the information was very heavy, and customers had been invited by the Chinese language authorities to not exit in public locations, to remain house, restrict the Chinese language New Yr celebrations,” he stated.
China is a vital rising market to Mondelez, accounting for roughly 4.5% of the corporate’s gross sales. The corporate has invested closely in China prior to now few years, targeted totally on product improvement and advertising and marketing there.
The Lunar New Yr season is often a profitable time for snack makers in China. Van de Put stated he expects the virus to have a short-term influence, however he didn’t quantify that anticipated influence.
“It’s kind of too early to inform proper now what that has performed to our sellout,” Van de Put stated. “However we anticipate that it’s going to have some impact.”
Mondelez reported fourth-quarter…