0955 GMT - Danone has a strong Chinese infant formula business and is the best-placed company to benefit from an improvement in birth rates in the country, Barclays analysts say in a note. The Chinese birth rate rose 6% in 2024 after years of declines, making the outlook for the Chinese infant milk formula "the best we have seen for a decade", they say. This prospect was confirmed by Danone at an analysts' meeting, when the company said that the uptick in births would feed into stage 1-3 formula growth over the next few years, they add. They note that the company already started to see signs of stabilization in the category. "Overall we think these positive developments in the Chinese IMF market go some way to removing one of the key and long-standing bear points on Danone," they add. Shares are flat at 68.07 euros. (michael.susin@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 18, 2025 04:55 ET (09:55 GMT)
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