French Group Doux recovering strongly

Recently an interview in a French trade media and news agency was published, in which Philippe Mangin of French food company Coop de France, gave his views on competitor Groupe Doux from Brittany, France.

Obviously this has created a misconception about Groupe Doux, as Magnin suggested in his interview that Groupe Doux was close to bankruptcy.

In response however, Arnaud Marion, CEO of Doux Group, made a clear statement that the situation described in the interview is untrue.

“On the contrary,” Marion said. “Under the leadership of its new shareholders, the Didier Calmels and Doux families, the company has made a spectacular recovery. Debts have been reduced by 75%, from €400 million in 2012 to €89 million by the end of November last year.

As a result, debt ratio has gone down considerably. Currently, Doux is profitable in each of its two activities: processed products and exports, despite of total stop of EU support.

“We are satisfied that we have demonstrated that our company has been able to improve cash flow and achieve positive operating result without subsidies,” Marion added.

“Investments of around €30 million have been made meanwhile, to further strengthen the position of Groupe Doux,” Marion concluded.

Philippe Magnin of Coop confirmed that the assumptions in the interview he had given were untrue.