The significant increase in cocoa bean prices will negatively impact Wawel's results from the second quarter of 2024 onwards, the company stated in a release. Cocoa beans are essential for chocolate production, and the unprecedented price surge poses a challenge to profit margins. Wawel anticipates difficulty in fully offsetting cost increases through product price hikes, potentially leading to margin declines. The company is implementing various strategies to mitigate margin decreases, including sales structure changes, but the ultimate impact remains uncertain. Over the past 24 months, cocoa bean futures prices on the London Stock Exchange have quadrupled, reaching over GBP 6,500 per ton.
Wawel's chocolate product sales, particularly vulnerable to cocoa price hikes, accounted for over 50% of its total sales in 2023, with cocoa paste processing valued at approximately PLN 100 million in 2023.
