Danone third-quarter sales up 9.4 percent

PARIS (AP) ? Yogurt maker Danone says its sales grew solidly in the third quarter of the year, driven by its booming waters business and strong growth in Asia.

The company behind Activia yogurt said Wednesday that revenue grew 9.4 percent in the July-to-September period to ?5.3 billion ($6.9 billion).

The Paris-based maker of Evian bottled water warned this year that the economic slowdown in Europe would hit its performance. Its third-quarter sales were flat for the region, which accounts for about half of its revenue. Danone said the situation in Southern Europe, in particular, was worse than it had anticipated.

But new markets have been picking up the slack. Asian sales grew by 28 percent. Bottled waters, meanwhile, were up 18 percent.

Associated Press

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