Healthy performance from Bon Appétit

Bon Appétit pleased as punch with last year's peformance Keystone Archive

Net profit surged 76 per cent higher at Swiss food retail group, Bon Appétit, in 2000, coming in at SFr 50.1 million ($29.06 million).

The group, which is a leading wholesale supplier and “cash & carry” store chain, said it expects “double-digit earnings growth” in 2001.

Last year was the first full business year since the merger of Bon Appétit and Usego Hofer Curti. During the year the company managed to lift sales by 4.7 per cent to SFr3.3 billion and operating profit by 10.9 per cent to SFr70.4 million.

The group, which employs more than 7,000 staff, said in a statement that it was proposing a dividend of SFr25 per share. It will also suggest to shareholders at the Annual General Meeting both a reduction in the nominal value of the shares and a share split.

Bon Appétit reported that its retail trade marketing companies, which include Prodega, Growa, Alisa, Pick Pay, Import Parfumerie, Usego, Valrhone and Unigros, raised their gross sales by 7.5 per cent to SFr1.7 billion.

The company also said it had high hopes for its joint venture with US coffee shop chain, Starbucks, which recently opened its first store in continental Europe in Zurich.

Bon Appétit said in its statement that one of its major aims for this year is to firmly establish the Starbucks name in Switzerland.

The company also promised a continued focus in 2001 on e-commerce, and integration of its existing e-commerce business units.

Currently the four e-commerce platforms at Bon Appétit are fresh&net, Howeg Online, LeShop and net-tissimo. In early March 2001, Bon appétit announced that it would take a majority stake in LeShop.

“Based on a good performance in the first quarter, the company is targeting double-digit growth in operating earnings for 2001,” the company said in a statement.

swissinfo with agencies