Cadbury has announced robust third-quarter financial results and is to overhaul its regional management structure as part of a continuing bid by the confectionery giant to drive down costs.
UK sales rose by 11% over the past three months, while the European business as a whole saw a more modest climb in revenue of around 4%.
The Dairy Milk manufacturer said price rises had continued to offset increases in commodity costs of between 5%-6% for the year so far.
“We participate in a resilient category with a strong business model and continue to expect a successful outcome for the year with guidance on revenue and margin unchanged from the interim results in July,” the group said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Cadbury is splitting its four existing regional operations into seven new divisions.
Its umbrella Americas arm is divided into North and South operations, while the Britain, Ireland, Middle East & Africa division is also carved up. Britain & Ireland will now function as a standalone operation, as will the Middle East & Africa unit.
The Asia-Pacific division sees the Australia, New Zealand and Japan businesses hived off into a single Pacific unit, separate from the Asian operation.
Cadbury said the structural changes would “enable faster decision-making, improve in-market execution and ensure a stronger alignment of category strategies and commercial programmes”.
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