Owner of Adria sees signs of resumption

The manufacturer of pasta and cookies M white, owner of brands such as Adria, Zabet and Foundation, reported that its sales by volume grew in April, even after making the second price adjustment in the year. The first, done in January was 6%. In April, prices were high, at 8% on average.
To Marcelino Freitas de Carvalho, Director of new business and investor relations of M white, the improvement in demand can signal that the food market has already hit rock bottom earlier this year and start to recover. "When there are price adjustment, usually falling sales volume, but we managed to grow. And we''re not seeing a reduction in the growth rate since then, "said the Executive.
In the first quarter, the M White recorded 1.9% increase in sales volume to 398.9 1000 tons. Biscuit sales grew 3 percent, to 112.3 1000 tons. Sales of pasta, in turn, had 0.9% drop, to 1000 tonnes 79.5. The flour and bran showed 3.6 percent advance, to 187.6 1000 tons. Net revenues grew 11.7%, to 1.2 billion R$. Net profit fell 24.6 percent to 94.6 million R$.
Ceesay added that the company''s decision to distribute all of their brands for all regions of the country, instead of focus brands by region, may have contributed to the increase in sales in the period.
For the next few months, the manufacturer reported that provides for inventory costs reductions due to the fall in the price of wheat in real, due to the recent appreciation of the real against the u.s. currency.
"Over time, the price of wheat will download in real. Until August, we must work with an exchange rate of R$ the R$ 3.50 3.55, below current levels, "said Carvalho, adding that M has White stocks were purchased for a dollar above 3.60 R$.
The company also expects to be benefit from the end of non-recurring expenses related to restructuring operations. In the first quarter, the M White presented a non-recurring expense of 11.6 million R$ with restructuring, which affected the company''s profit. In the period, the company closed operations in three buildings, located in the States of Bahia, Ceará and Pernambuco. And reduced the staff at 5.1%, as part of efforts to reduce costs.