Danone Reports 5.9% Growth In Sales In H1 2012

New full-year targets for 2012 confirmed are as follows:

* Solid growth in H1 2012 sales[1] of +7.7% as reported and +5.9% like-for-like[2]
* Second quarter in line with expectations, marked by a high basis for comparison in 2011 in the Waters division; reported sales[1] up +7.8% and like-for-like sales[2] up +5.0%
* Sales up in all divisions, with variations from one region to the next including a decline in Europe and double-digit growth[3 in the rest of the world
* Trading operating margin[3] in line with expectations at 13.85% (-61bps)[2]
* Underlying fully diluted earnings per share[3] up +4.7% at €1.51 as reported, and up +2.5% like-for-like[2]
* Free cash flow[3] at €890 million
* New full-year targets for 2012 confirmed: sales growth of 5-7%[2], operating margin down50 bps[2], and free cash flow at €2 billion.

Please find here the full report.