UHT milk, cream, cheese, meat and butter boosted Grupo LALA‘s sales in the first quarter of 2020.
In short, the company focuses on the food industry and has more than 70 years of experience in the production, innovation and marketing of milk, dairy products and beverages.
With more than 40,000 employees, Grupo LALA operates 30 production plants and 172 distribution centers in Mexico, Brazil, the United States and Central America.
Its sales for the first quarter of 2021 in Mexico increased 6.3% year-on-year, to 15,889 million pesos, with growth in all segments and a particularly strong performance of UHT Milk, Cream, Cheese, Meat and Butter, coupled with the increase in prices middle digit in the portfolio.
According to the company, the preference for consumption at home continues to be high as a result of the pandemic, it also continues to negatively affect the demand for Yogurt and “take away” presentations, which continue to register a contraction in volume.
Regarding Brazil, Grupo LALA’s operations reported net sales for the first quarter of 2,650 million pesos, an annual increase of 12.9% in reais and a decrease of 6.2% in pesos.
Cheese
The increase in reais was due to the execution of a price increase to transfer cost inflation, together with the strong performance of Quesos Maduros y Parmesano, Requeijão and Sntables.
During the quarter, operations in Brazil experienced lower demand, which was reflected in a double-digit volume contraction, as a result of the confinements derived from the pandemic and the absence of the Corona Voucher fiscal stimulus granted by the government, which affected negatively to the Brazilian restaurant sector and to other Food Service establishments.
Likewise, LALA’s sales in Food Service were negatively affected by the restrictions related to Covid-19 implemented during the quarter.
USA
The operation in the US market reported 785 million pesos in net sales for the first quarter 2021, a 9.2% decrease in constant currency and a 7.7% decrease in Mexican pesos.
The volume registered a mid-digit contraction due to: 1) the continuation of a lower consumption of “take out” products that has impacted the volumes of Drinkable Yogurt, which were partially offset by the good performance of Premium Milk and UHT Milk, despite a high comparison base that included panic buying in March 2020; and 2) reduction of maquila sales.
Central American market
Grupo LALA’s operation in Central America reported a decrease in sales of 9.9% in dollars and a decrease of 8.0% in Mexican pesos, to reach 720 million pesos in the first quarter of 2021.
This decrease was due to the divestiture of the Costa Rican operations, which were closed in December 2020.
Sales in Nicaragua and Guatemala increased 4.2% year-on-year in dollars, thanks to a strong performance in Milk and Yogurt, as well as an effective transfer of cost inflation.
