Poultry firm LDC rises as profits grow despite bird flu, high costs

Societe Ldc SA

24/11/2022 09:04

** Shares in Societe LDC  LOUP.PA  rise 4% after the French
poultry leader posted strong half-year results on Wednesday,
despite the bird flu hitting volumes and an inflation-linked
rise in costs
    ** Price hikes fed 14% sales growth, while H1 recurring
operating result grew to 120.9 mln euros ($125.9 mln) from 103.1
mln a year earlier
    ** Midcap Partners says the results are "more than solid" in
a tough context marked by the bird flu and higher raw material
costs
    ** Portzamparc says the operating result and margin of 4.4%
were both above expectations, adding the group is again proving
its pricing power
    ** LDC says it will need to raise prices by about 10% next
year to cover energy and other costs 
    ** It targets annual sales of 5.8 bln euros with recurring
operating margin of at least 4.5%, an outlook which Midcap calls
"promising"
    ** The shares, up around 6% YTD, are on a track for their
best day since Sept. 27
($1 = 0.9605 euros)
 (Reporting by Olivier Sorgho)
 ((Olivier.Sorgho@thomsonreuters.com))