PARIS (Reuters) – Danone delivered stronger-than-expected sales growth in the last quarter of 2021 amid a challenging environment marked by mounting inflation, and its new chief executive said much remained to be done to turn the company around.

Antoine de Saint-Affrique took control of the CEO role in September. Investors will need to wait until March 8, Capital Market day, to see details about his strategy and direction for 2022, and mid-term.

Danone is the biggest yoghurt manufacturer in the world. It reported that its 2021 comparable sales rose by 3.4%. This was slightly more than what analysts had expected based on an industry consensus of 3% growth.

Danone explained that the acceleration to 6.7% in sales growth was higher than market expectations at 5.5%, and all three businesses were contributing to this growth.

In line with analysts’ and company guidance, the operating margin for 2021 fell by 30 basis points at 13.7%.

Consumer goods manufacturers are facing rising prices for commodity, energy and labour. Unilever (NYSE 🙂 warned this month that it would see a decline in margins due to its inability to raise enough prices to cover the increased costs.