Danone Posts Strong Earnings Growth For 2017, Helped By Waters, Nutrition

Danone reported a 14.2 percent rise in earnings per share (EPS) in 2017, in line with its guidance, and said it expects to continue the double-digit growth in EPS in 2018. That profit performance was tied to strong growth in its waters and specialized nutrition divisions. The waters division grew by more than 10 percent in the fourth quarter on a like-for-like basis; the specialized nutrition division rose 8.4 percent, with strong performance in China. The company said its food group would focus on accelerating sales growth this year and delivering a further rise in profits, thanks to cost cutting and the acquisition of U.S. organic company WhiteWave. Like-for-like sales in 2017 rose 2.5 percent to $30.95 billion, slightly higher than analysts' expectations of 2.4 percent growth.