French cheese group, Fromageries Bel, last week announced a net profit of E69m for the financial year 2000, representing an increase of 7.8 per cent. Operating profit increased by 2.2 per cent to E106m, showing a margin shrinkage from 6.8 to 6.4 percent. Sales grew by 8.5 percent thanks to the international markets. Fromageries Bel claimed that the decrease in cost-effectiveness was due to the increase in price of milk and milk powder, and to the "reinforcement of promotional investments" to support the brands in a mature and highly competitive market. The company is behind cheese brands such as Babybel, La vache qui rit and Kiri cheeses. Source: Investir
