Cadbury's Irish unit claims 'pricing actions' were required to maintain profits

Operating profits for 2025 rise to €5.5m

Cocoa prices surged by 160% in 2024.

The directors at the Irish-based seller and distributor of Cadbury's chocolate say that "pricing actions" were required in 2025 to ensure that its business continued to be profitable.

On the back of cocoa prices surging by 160% in 2024, Mondelez last year increased the prices of its chocolates, including its flagship product Cadbury’s Dairy Milk bar and new accounts for Mondelez Ireland Ltd show that operating profits last year increased by 31% from €4.2m to €5.55m.

The firm's increased profits followed revenues rising by 11%, or by €33.85m, from €317.13m to €350.98m. The directors attribute the rise in revenues to "pricing actions" and other activities, including the focus on key brands in 2025.

The directors said “strong customer relations supported Mondelez in achieving the pricing actions which were required to ensure our business continues to be profitable”.

They said the focus on key brands in 2025 "accelerated by our marketing activity also drove strong customer loyalty". The firm paid a dividend of €16m during the year to shareholder, Kraft Foods Schweiz Holding Gmbh.

Pre-tax profits at the company only increased marginally from €6.36m to €6.62m as the company’s interest received at €1.07m was down sharply on the €2.1m interest received in 2024.

The directors said 2025 "was another successful year for the company with growth in turnover despite the cost-of-living crisis in Ireland".

They said market conditions continue "to be challenging in all the categories in which we operate: confectionery, cheese, bakery and grocery. Inflationary pressures continue to have an impact on both the business and consumers”.

They said: “We gained market share in the total confectionery category and in the protein category with Grenade. Biscuits dropped 0.5pts of share due to strong competition and new entrants to the market.”

The directors said Mondelez has robust plans to turn this around and has seen recent share recovery on the back of these plans, adding that "our invest strategy in Candy is working and we have seen positive share impact as well as volume growth".

Mondelez in 2025, according to the directors' report, maintained the number one position in the market for confectionery.

The directors anticipate that the company's operations will continue to expand its presence in the Irish market with its product portfolio and generate revenue from these products and related service needs.

The report reveals that the Mondelez group "has strong plans so that we can continue to serve our customers and consumers moving forward".

On the performance of the company since year end, the directors said its key strategic initiatives across its portfolio are progressing well and driving strong business performance.

They said results for the first half of 2026 “have been robust, with positive outcomes recorded across all commercial metrics”, and at a total level Mondelez Ireland Limited gained 0.2 pts value share YTD (Year To Date) as of June 2026.

The directors said the Irish arm Mondelez continues to drive innovation through new product development "while sharpening our local focus on high-growth channels, including online and away-from-home".

Numbers employed last year increased by one to 80 as staff costs declined from €9.15m to €8.86m. The firm recorded post-tax profits of €5.47m after incurring a corporation tax charge of €1.15m. The profits also take account of non-cash amortisation costs of €1.4m. 

Directors’ pay totalled €808,000 that comprises €530,000 in aggregate emoluments, €145,000 in pension payments, €81,000 in share options and €52,000 in payments under long-term incentive schemes.

Shareholder funds at the end of last December totalled €13.08m that included accumulated profits of €3.07m.