“Companies in the food sector saw the inflationary context as an opportunity to review their price management,” says an expert.
Inflation continues to gain ground in Europe as monthly consumer prices rise. Nearly half of these increases are due to the fact that local companies transferred the higher costs to consumers, collects Nikkei Asia.
The outlet points out that, in July of this year, consumer prices for food and other products increased by more than 10% in Germany, for the fifteenth consecutive month, and by more than 14% in the United Kingdom. Because price increases have outpaced wage growth, consumption in the region has suffered a drastic drop.
According to an analysis of the annual results of 70 European food retail and manufacturing companies by management consultancy Oliver Wyman, it was determined that earnings before interest, taxes, amortization and depreciation, or EBITDA, rose 11% in the food retailers and 12% in manufacturers in 2022, compared to the previous year. That growth was driven primarily by higher revenue.
“Companies in the food sector saw the inflationary context as an opportunity to review their price management,” said Rainer Muench, partner at Oliver Wyman. According to a household survey carried out by the European Commission, it was recorded that the inflation rate perceived during the past year increased to 26% among low-income families, the highest figure in 20 years.
“A recent analysis by the International Monetary Fund also supported those who blame rampant inflation on corporate greed. In 2022, corporate profit growth accounted for 45% of inflation in Europe, higher than the 40% attributed to higher cost of imports,” the media stated.
Source: RT
