Nomad Foods (NYSE:NOMD) said its retail disruptions in Germany and France have been resolved and that it expects improved sales and market-share performance in the second half of 2026, although management said it will likely take longer to return to market-share neutrality.
During the company’s second-quarter earnings Q&A session, Chief Executive Officer Dominic Brisby said retailer disruptions represented a meaningful headwind to market share during the quarter. While the disruptions are now behind the company, Brisby said Nomad still has work to do to improve its competitiveness.
Retail disruptions largely resolved
When asked about the status of the retailer issues, Brisby said the disruptions in Germany and France were fully resolved, except for certain small retailers and markets. He said investors could consider the matters resolved in the company’s two key affected markets.
Management expects the resolution of those issues, along with recent price increases among private-label competitors, to support better performance in the second half. However, Brisby did not provide a timeline for when Nomad expects to return to market-share neutrality or begin gaining share.
He noted that the frozen-food category has continued to expand across Nomad’s markets. Year to date, the category was up 3.4% in value terms and 1.6% in volume terms, according to Brisby. Over the most recent three months, category value increased 2.8% and volume rose 1.1%.
Brisby said the category’s growth means that stabilizing or expanding market share could have a meaningful effect on Nomad’s business. The company plans to discuss its market-share and broader value-creation initiatives at an analyst and investor day in October.
Private-label pricing and elasticity remain under review
Nomad has begun discussions with retailers regarding additional pricing, particularly as inflation has been concentrated in fish products, Brisby said. He described the contemplated increases as cost-justified and said the company is confident in its ability to implement them toward the end of 2026.
Private-label competitors have already raised prices in several markets, management said. Brisby cited increases of 20% to 30% at certain U.K. retailers in mid-July, a 32% increase on certain Carrefour products in France, and increases of about 20% in many fish categories at Aldi, Edeka and REWE in Germany.
Despite those actions, Brisby said it is too early to draw conclusions about consumer price elasticity because many of the private-label increases have only recently taken effect. Nomad is continuing to analyze sellout data, he said.
The company has used some of the private-label pricing movement to reduce its own price index slightly, according to management. Chief Financial Officer Ruben Baldew said Nomad’s productivity initiatives are intended in part to support competitive pricing and prevent the company’s price index from increasing further.
Productivity program remains on track
Baldew said Nomad remains on track with its EUR 200 million productivity program. The company has directed nonrecurring spending toward productivity-related initiatives, he said, while noting that nonrecurring spending has declined.
Management has announced a restructuring within some marketing functions and disclosed a factory closure during the second quarter. Baldew said these actions are proceeding in line with planning.
On margins, Baldew said the company’s return to gross-margin growth was driven by pricing that began to take effect as expected following the first quarter. He also cited a few million euros of timing effects in advertising, promotion and overhead spending, along with EUR 1 million to EUR 2 million related to technical recipe variances. He said the gross-margin improvement itself was not primarily a timing effect.
The company is using productivity savings to maintain pricing competitiveness rather than pursuing the level of price increases it implemented in 2022 and 2023, Baldew said.
Capital allocation and October strategy update
Nomad has suspended share repurchases and is prioritizing debt reduction, Baldew said. The company continues to pay dividends, but management said it is focusing on deleveraging to reduce interest payments and interest costs. Baldew declined to provide a specific leverage target or timeline, saying the company will provide additional perspective at its analyst and investor day this fall.
Brisby, who said he has spent the past several months evaluating the business, highlighted the resilience of the frozen category and the strength of Nomad’s brands relative to branded and private-label competitors. He also said the company has needed organizational changes to become more competitive, including leadership and executive-team changes intended to bring in new talent while retaining existing talent.
Nomad plans to present a value-creation plan at its October event covering innovation, marketing, sales execution, productivity and other areas of the business, Brisby said.
About Nomad Foods (NYSE:NOMD)
Nomad Foods Limited is a leading frozen foods company headquartered in the United Kingdom, operating under the ticker symbol NOMD on the New York Stock Exchange. The company’s portfolio comprises well-known consumer brands such as Birds Eye, iglo, Findus, Goodfella’s and Aunt Bessie’s, covering a wide range of categories including vegetables, seafood, ready meals, pizzas and desserts. Nomad Foods focuses on delivering convenient, high-quality frozen products designed to meet evolving consumer preferences for taste, nutrition and ease of preparation.
Formed in 2015 through the acquisition of Iglo Group by investment firms Permira and Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Nomad Foods was created with the strategy of building Europe’s largest frozen foods platform.
