Danone results hit by costs of Galbani sale to UK buyout firm

French food group Danone has announced it is to sell its Italian cheese and ham subsidiary Galbani to UK buyout specialist BC Partners for e1.02 billion.
The deal comes after Italian food group Parmalat pulled out of talks earlier in the month.
BC Partners believes Galbani’s distribution network will allow it to introduce new products. It also plans to market the brand further outside Italy.
Galbani has a turnover of e1.1billion and is the largest cheese brand in Italy. It is being sold by Danone as part of a drive to concentrate on its yogurt, water and biscuit brands. The deal is subject to approval by European antitrust authorities .
In February Danone released its results for 2001. The company blamed its 81% net profit dive from 2000 on the losses associated with the sale of Galbani.
Net profit for 2001 was e132 million, down from e721 million in 2000. This was due to exceptional charges of e648 million. e475 million of this was in allowances for Galbani, with the rest consisting of costs involved in the restructuring of Danone’s biscuit business. Net profit excluding exceptional costs was r780 million for 2001, up 8.3%.
The fresh dairy products division is Danone’s largest department. It reported operating profits of e790 million for 2001, up 11% on 2000. Operating margin was 11.4% in 2001, up from 10.9% in 2000.