Despite the tense geopolitical situation and associated market disruptions, the Oetker Group managed to increase its sales organically by 6.3% to over EUR 6.9 billion in 2023. The group is forecasting moderate growth for the current financial year.

The consumer goods-oriented business areas of Food and Beer and Nonalcoholic Beverages continued to make the largest contribution to the Oetker Group’s sales growth. Dr. Oetker Food and Conditorei Coppenrath & Wiese together increased their sales by 4.6%. The Pizza and Professional divisions performed particularly well.  The Oetker Group’s sales in Germany increased by 7.1% to EUR 3.9 billion The share of sales generated outside Germany remained almost unchanged from the previous year, at 43.5% of its total sales.

“The global conditions of 2023 were anything but easy for the Oetker Group. Following the existing market changes due to the aftermath of the pandemic and the ongoing war in Ukraine since 2022, the escalation of the Middle East conflict in October 2023 led to further proxy confrontations, putting additional pressure on already fragile global supply chains. It’s evident that world markets reacted with volatility. Moreover, the climate crisis, the uncertain energy supply, and further inflation with noticeable cost increases caused people in many countries to hold back on consumption,” commented Dr. Albert Christmann, General Partner of Dr. August Oetker KG, on the key figures of the 2023 financial statements. “At the same time, I am pleased that we were able to increase our sales organically by 6.3% despite these challenges. For the current financial year, we again expect rising sales.”

Investments

The Oetker Group’s investments amounted to EUR 303 million, 31% higher than the previous year’s level (EUR 231 million). The Food division saw a particularly high increase (EUR +46 million). Dr. Oetker Food invested as planned in future areas such as innovations, sustainability, and digitalization as part of a long-term investment program. A large portion of the investments was also allocated to expanding capacity in the international pizza plants.

Employees

In 2023, the Oetker Group employed a total of 19,140 people (the previous year: 19,210) in Germany and 9,873 people (the previous year: 10,189) abroad. The number of full-time equivalent employees worldwide remained largely stable at 29,013 in the year under review.

Food division achieves moderate growth

The Food division consists of the companies Dr. Oetker and Conditorei Coppenrath & Wiese. In the 2023 financial year, it generated total sales of over EUR 4.1 billion. Inflationary cost pressures on the procurement side continued. All national subsidiaries of the two food companies Dr. Oetker and Conditorei Coppenrath & Wiese were heavily affected.

The Group had already initiated an efficiency and growth program in the previous year, with which it structurally and sustainably saved costs while simultaneously investing specifically in innovations. The focus is primarily on measures to streamline processes and reduce non-value-adding costs, it explains.

Dr. Oetker increased its sales by 4.4% compared to the previous year. However, sales of decorative items in the Cake and Dessert category did not grow. The reasons lie mainly in the inflation-induced consumer restraint in this product group. This particularly led to sales losses at Wilton, the market leader for cake decorations in the USA, as well as in the business of baking specialty products of so-called specialty retail companies. Overall, however, the Cake and Dessert category’s revenues increased compared to the previous year.

In the Pizza category, sales rose significantly above the previous year’s level. Successful innovations, such as the mini pizzas ‘My Pizza Slice’ in Scandinavian countries, as well as targeted promotional activities, contributed to the sales volumes. Additionally, Dr. Oetker gained consumers from the out-of-home sector. Amid consumer downtrading shifts, high-quality frozen pizza has become a good alternative to restaurant visits or delivery services.

Investments in the Food Division in 2023 amounted to EUR 171 million, EUR 46 million above the previous year’s level (EUR 125 million). With this high level of investment, the companies established a basis for growth in the coming years and focused on sustainability projects according to their Sustainability Charter.

A significant part of the investments at Dr. Oetker was also allocated to expanding capacities in international pizza plants. In the past financial year, Conditorei Coppenrath & Wiese invested in projects for sustainable energy solutions, after having invested heavily in the expansion of production and storage capacities in previous years in order to lay the foundations for medium and long-term growth. The number of full-time equivalent employees in the Food Division was 16,510.

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