Manner busier despite price hikes
Tradition-rich sweets manufacturer Manner said today (Fri) it managed to increase its turnover by more than 10 per cent.
The company, best known for its Manner Schnitten hazelnut cream wafers, announced a 10.3 per cent turnover rise from the first nine months of 2010 to 122.2 million Euros in the same time span of this year. Company bosses explained they were optimistic for the remainder of the year despite constantly high price rates for ingredients like sugar. Price hikes for such goods would affect the firm’s performance in 2011 and next year, they stressed.
Manner officials made clear that the enterprise’s most recent turnover increase also had to do with consumer price hikes. They explained upping the price for Manner Schnitten and other products was necessary due to “dramatic” cost developments. The confectionery company, which was founded in 1890, produced 9.2 per cent more products between January and September than in the same period of 2010, according to a spokeswoman.
Manner argued its 7.6 per cent turnover drop to 155.4 million Euros from 2009 to 2010 with high prices for cocoa beans, flour, hazelnuts and other ingredients. Manner has almost 700 employees at the moment. It dismissed 48 people in 2009 when the value of orders dwindled due to the financial crisis. Manner generated around 45 per cent of its turnover in Austria in 2010, according to figures released by the firm last April.
Manner’s products are as popular as Mozart chocolate balls, Viennese apple strudel and Wiener schnitzel and considered as something many tourists consider as typical for Vienna and Austria. One of the company’s strongest assets is its store at Stephansplatz Square in the heart of Vienna. Sweets on sale under the brand names Napoli and Casali also belong to the Manner business group.
Meanwhile, statisticians revealed that Austrians had to fork out 7.1 per cent more for their average weekly shopping in September of this year than in the same month of 2010. The check conducted by Statistik Austria considered the price for food, sweets but also common products like car fuel. Foodstuff prices soared by 4.5 per cent while dairy products became six per cent dearer from September 2010 to September 2011. Fruit was five per cent more expensive in September of this year than in September 2010, Statistik Austria experts said.
The price for beer could climb in the coming months as well. Market analysts expect Austria’s breweries to follow the example of Radeberger and introduce a price hike. The Saxon company, Germany’s leading producer of beer, said last month its products would become more expensive next February. None of Austria’s biggest breweries have disclosed precise plans to jack up their consumer prices. However, they may argue such a move with rising prices for resources on global trading markets and higher production costs due to soaring electricity and gas charges.