French dairy giant Danone lifts target after strong first half

Danone SA, the French bottled water and yogurt giant, raised its target for earnings growth this year despite worsening conditions in its home market in the first half, as savings from its takeover of a Dutch baby food maker came in faster than expected. The Paris-based maker of Activia yogurt and Evian bottled water lifted its target for operating margin improvement alongside its release of first half earnings, which showed net profit grew 15.8 percent to €701 million ($1.1 billion) on sales of €7.7 billion ($12.1 billion). Danone now expects to increase its operating margin by between 40 and 50 basis points, or hundredths of a percent, up from its previous target of an improvement of "at least" 30 basis points. The company also confirmed its targets for 8-10 percent sales growth this year and 15 percent growth in earnings... [read full story]