Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli AG

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Lindt & Sprüngli half-year 2026 results conference call and live webcast. I am Mathilde, the chorus call operator. I would like to remind you that all participants will be in listen-only mode and the conference is being recorded. The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session. You can register for questions at any time by pressing star and 1 on your telephone. Webcast viewers may submit their questions and writing via the relative field. For operator assistance, please press star and 0. The conference must not be recorded for publication or broadcast. At this time, it's my pleasure to hand over to Martin Hug, Chief Financial Officer. Please go ahead, sir.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is our pleasure to welcome you to the Lindt & Sprüngli half-year results conference, call and webcast. My name is Martin Hug, Group CFO, and with me today is our Group CEO, Adalbert Lechner. The presentation and a transcript of our prepared comments will be uploaded to our website after the call. The presentation will take approximately 30 minutes. Following the presentation we will hand over to the operator who will then manage the question and answer session. The agenda points of the presentation can be seen on this chart and include volume growth agenda, a detailed review of the first half, our expectations for the full year and the medium to long term and a chance for you to ask questions. I would also like to refer you to the disclaimer at the end of the slide deck. To kick us off, I hand over to our Group CEO, Adalbert Lechner, who will take you through our agenda for volume growth.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome everyone, also from my side. In a challenging environment, we have achieved solid results, and I would like to thank our teams around the world for their effort and dedication. We grew strongly in North America and the rest of the world with a softened demand in Europe. Over the last 18 months, the global chocolate category has faced one of the most challenging environments in its history. Record cocoa prices required unprecedented price increases across the industry, while geopolitical uncertainty, inflation, and weak consumer sentiment weighed on demand. The crisis in the Middle East added another headwind with weaker tourism flows from Asia and the Middle East to Europe. As a result, we have seen volume decline over this time across the whole category around the world. It reflects a strong reaction of consumers worldwide to the necessary price increases. These developments were largely in line with our expectations and the scenario we outlined. The majority of our growth in this period was price driven, while volumes came under pressure. This is consistent with our expectation that pricing would dominate in H1 2026 and that stabilization of volumes would begin in H2. However, we believe we have reached an important turning point. The required pricing actions are already in the market. Consumers are becoming accustomed to the new price levels and pricing pressure across the category has begun to normalize. At the same time, we have a clear action plan focused on restoring volume growth. Our objective is straightforward. Stabilize volumes in the second half of 2026 and return to volume growth from 2027 onwards. This recovery is supported by targeted actions on pricing and affordability, increased brand investment, stronger consumer activation, innovation, and further expansion of our global footprint. Over the next few slides, I will walk you through the concrete actions we are taking and why we are confident to get back to a volume growth momentum. The foundation of our volume recovery plan is not pricing. It is the strength of the Lindt brand. and our brand equity is stronger than ever. For the second year in a row, Lindt was named the world's most valuable chocolate brand in the Canta ranking. With a brand value of 11.7 billion US dollars, up 24% year on year, we now rank seventh across the entire food and beverage category. This recognition demonstrates the resilience and strength of the Lindt brand. This strength has been built over many years through a relentless focus on premium quality, continued innovation and consistent investment behind our brands. Most importantly, it reflects the deep emotional connection and trust that consumers have in us. That makes us confident to regain household penetration, fuel consumer demand and get back to volume growth. Our strong brand equity is built on something very tangible, the high quality of our products. We call it the Lindt difference, the combination of premium ingredients, long-standing manufacturing expertise, continuous innovation, and unmatched craftsmanship. For more than 180 years, we have focused on creating the highest quality chocolate from bean to bar. From carefully selected cocoa beans and ingredients to the Lindt conch invented in 1879 and still at the heart of our chocolate making process today, every step is designed to deliver a superior consumer experience. This is what set us apart. And it matters more than ever. Across many markets, consumers are increasingly choosing more mindful and fewer but better indulgences. They are looking for quality, authenticity, and products that are worth the price. This premiumization trend plays directly to our strengths. As the category returns to volume growth, we believe Lindt is exceptionally well positioned to capitalize on this trend and continue gaining market share in the premium chocolate segment. As pricing pressure across the industry begins to normalize, we have greater flexibility to take targeted actions where we see opportunities to support volume growth. We have already announced selective price decreases in key markets such as Germany and Switzerland, particularly in our Christmas portfolio. These measures will support consumer demands during our most important season and reinforce our leadership in seasonal chocolate. At the same time, we are expanding our portfolio with new formats and price points for some of our most popular brands, including Lindorf. By broadening our price architecture, we can attract new consumers, increase purchase frequency, and offer more touchpoints with the Lindt brand without compromising our premium positioning. We are also continuing to invest behind our brands. Strong brand support remains one of the most effective drivers of long-term volume growth, and we are increasing our focus on both traditional and social media. The extraordinary success of our Dubai-style chocolate launch demonstrated the growing power of social media in building awareness, engagement and demand for our brands. We are therefore expanding our social media presence and creating a more seamless consumer journey from inspiration and discovery to purchase. This strategy is helping us reach new audiences and strengthen our relevance with younger consumers. In Germany, for example, a recent YouGov study ranked Lindt as the most popular chocolate brand among Gen Z. Taken together, these actions are designed to improve affordability, strengthen consumer engagement, and support a return to sustainable volume growth. Throughout our history, innovation has been one of the key drivers of growth for Lindt & Sprüngli. It allows us to attract new consumers and increase brand attention. A great example is our Lindt Choco Wafer. Following highly successful pilot launches in the United Kingdom, Italy and Bulgaria, consumer response has exceeded our expectations. Based on this success, we are now preparing for a global rollout. To support the demand, we are investing in additional production capacity and are currently building a dedicated Schoko wafer production facility at our site in Italy. We expect the new factory to become operational by 2027 and will then gradually expand the distribution of Schoko wafer across our global network. When discussing innovation, it is impossible not to talk about Lindt Dubai Style. Following extraordinary consumer demand, Dubai Style has evolved from a trend-driven launch into a well-established product that is now broadly available across retail channels and increasingly becoming part of our core portfolio. While the initial hype has naturally faded, consumer interest remains strong and the platform continues to offer significant growth opportunities. Building on the success of Dubai Style, we are expanding the platform with additional recipes, formats, and flavors. Earlier this year, we launched Tokyo Style Choket, a matcha and strawberry-based recipe inspired by the Japanese tea culture, and we will continue to introduce further city additions to the portfolio. Our ambition is to create a broader family of city-inspired choket creations that combine global food trends with Lindt's premium chocolate expertise. This approach allows us to continually refresh the platform, attract new consumers and generate excitement around the brand. Our global retail business continues to be one of our most powerful growth drivers It allows us to showcase our brands in the best possible way and create unique consumer experiences that strengthen brand equity and loyalty. We continue to invest in both established and emerging markets. Earlier this year, we opened a new flagship store in Lucerne, one of Switzerland's most visited tourist destinations. Later in the year, we will further enhance this location with a chocolate experience exhibition. Later this year as well, we will open a new retail store in a prime location in Oslo. Looking ahead, one of our most exciting projects is the opening of a 1,200 square meter Lindt flagship store at Marienplatz in Munich, planned for next year, which will become one of the largest Lindt stores worldwide. At the same time, retail is an important spearhead for our expansion into new markets. Earlier this year, we opened our first Linn store in China, in Shanghai, marking an important milestone. In India, where we recently established our own subsidiary, we expect to open our first stores in the third quarter. By the end of the year, we will open stores in Saudi Arabia and Malaysia. These investments are much more than additional points of sale. They increase brand visibility, strengthen consumer engagement, and help us attract new consumers in some of the world's most attractive growth markets. Taken together, our retail expansion strategy provides another important growth factor in the second half of this year and beyond. Let me close by underpinning how these trends and our actions will translate into positive volume development. Long-term consumer trends continue to play to our strengths. We have already discussed the ongoing Thank you very much. Such as our city-inspired product range of ChocoWafer and ChocoWafer, we are attracting new consumers and keeping our portfolio relevant for evolving consumer preferences. With our Lindt Metro Chocolatier, we will continue our communication on our heritage, craftsmanship and high quality. Our accelerating expansion in both established and emerging markets allows us to reach consumers wherever they choose to shop. We are expanding the reach of the Lindt brand offering the ultimate shopping experience in our stores. Based on the strength of our brand, the quality of our products, the actions we are taking today and the favorable consumer trends, we are confident to return to sustainable volume growth in 2027. We have the right strategy and are well positioned in the market to confirm our mid to long-term growth ambitions. With this, I now hand over to Martin, who will take you through the half-year results.