Mondelez: Investors ‘don’t care’ about Russia

Chief executive of the owner of Cadbury defends decision to carry on trading with Moscow

THE boss of Mondelez, the owner of Cadbury, has claimed that investors do not “morally care” about it continuing to do business in Russia.

Dirk Van de Put, the chief executive of Mondelez, which has owned Cadbury since 2010, defended its decision to keep doing business in Russia despite criticism from campaigners. Mondelez is one of the world’s largest food and drink companies, with global sales of $36bn (£28.5bn) in 2023. It also owns the Philadelphia cream cheese brand, Toblerone and Maynards Bassetts.

Russia accounted for 2.8pc of Mondelez’s global sales last year, falling from 4pc in 2022. It employs almost 3,000 people in the country at three plants, and has begun operating its Russian business as a standalone entity.

Mr Van de Put said in an interview with the Financial Times that there had been “no shareholder pressure whatsoever” to quit doing business in Russia. He added that he had faced some questions from a handful of European funds but there had been “no request to leave Russia from any of our investors”. He said: “I don’t think [investors] morally care.” However, he added: “If you have an important Russian business, the hit on the company would be huge, and that becomes a different discussion.”

He defended his stance on the basis that the assets of Western companies exiting Russia could end up in the hands of people and entities close to Vladimir Putin’s regime.

Mr Van de Put added: “I wonder what happened with the companies that were sold, who got them and what are they doing with the cash that those companies generate?

“They all went to friends of Putin.” Western companies that have continued to trade in Russia have faced mounting anger from campaigners, who have accused them of indirectly contributing to the Kremlin’s war effort by paying taxes in the country.

A spokesman for B4ukraine, a group of more than 80 non-profits who are urging multinationals to leave Russia, said: “The comments of the CEO of Mondelez highlight complete moral bankruptcy of the American snacking giant. We are not surprised as our numerous attempts to engage with the company have fallen on deaf ears.

“Such comments ignore over 125,000 war crimes committed by Russia in this illegal invasion and the responsibility of business to protect human rights under the UN Guiding Principles. There is no mention of the appeal from over 1,200 of Mondelez’s global staff to exit Russia and the extensive boycott of its products across Scandinavia.”

Mondelez has been called an “international sponsor of war” by Ukraine’s National Agency on Corruption Prevention. It has also faced boycotts from companies in Scandinavia.

Christopher Ford, secretary of the Ukraine Solidarity Campaign, said: “Any company that operates in Russia should have UK contracts rescinded and put on notice of public boycott and disinvestment.” The Telegraph approached Mondelez’s three biggest shareholders, the investment firms Vanguard, Blackrock and Capital Group for comment. They declined. Vanguard has previously said that it donates to organisations providing supplies and resources to Ukrainian children and families, and that it “moved swiftly” to carry out sanctions levied against Russian entities.

A Mondelez spokesman said: “If stopping our operations in Russia would stop the war, we would do it immediately. Unfortunately, it is not that straightforward. Like most other global food and beverage companies, we are continuing to provide food during these challenging times in accordance with applicable sanctions.”