Milan, March 4, 2009 - Italian dairy group Parmalat SpA turned in a 9.8 percent drop in core 2008 profit on Wednesday and said it was likely to fall again this year in difficult markets.
In a statement, the company said earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were 330.6 million euros ($414.4 million) in 2008 at constant exchange rates and said the figure should be 310-320 million euros this year.
It said 2008 group net profit was 673.1 million euros versus 673.4 million euros in 2007 on revenues up 6.9 percent to 4.13 billion euros. Parmalat added it would pay out a total dividend of 0.173 euro a share.
Parmalat, which produces long-life milk and juices, said currency fluctuations and lower demand in emerging markets because of the economic crisis had hit sales.
On the positive side, it shifted sales towards higher-margin products such as easily digestible milk, flavoured milk and fruit-based beverages.
"The group ... (used) a successful pricing policy to offset the impact of higher raw material prices and a decrease in unit sales," it said in the statement.
Parmalat said it had net cash inflows of 615.4 million euros from legal cases following its collapse under billions of euros of debt in 2003.
Shares were down 2.86 percent by 1413 GMT to 1.394 euros as other leading Milan shares gained 1.53 percent.