Mondelez International beat Wall Street estimates for fourth-quarter revenue and earnings last night, boosted by higher demand for its snacks and Oreos in developed markets.
Consumers stuck at home under new lockdown restrictions in Europe and North America stocked up on chocolates and snacks during the Christmas season.
This drove sales across the confectionary industry which has grown since start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
To build on this demand, Mondelez has invested in digital marketing, collaborated with singer Lady Gaga to launch limited edition Oreos, and adapted to stay-at-home shopper preferences by adding larger family-sized packs to its e-commerce portfolio.
The Cadbury chocolate-maker's quarterly revenue rose nearly 6% in Europe and about 14% in North America, Mondelez's two largest markets.
The confectioner's snack brands also include Toblerone, Philadelphia cream cheese, Tang drink and Tuc crackers.
Revenue rose to $7.30 billion from $6.91 billion a year ago, beating analysts' average estimate of $7.16 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
Excluding items, the company earned 67 cents per share, beating analyst expectations of 66 cents per share.
Yesterday, it emerged that Mondelez was being investigated by EU competition authorities over concerns it may have blocked cross-border sales of its products in the European Union in breach of competition rules.
The case is the latest example of the European Commission's crackdown on companies that impose curbs on sales of products between EU countries as the EU executive seeks to spur cross-border sales and boost economic growth.
EU competition enforcers said the issue was parallel trade of Mondelez's chocolate, biscuits and coffee between EU countries where the company is a key producer in a market worth billions of euros.
