The chief financial officer of Italian food group Parmalat has said that the group may have difficulty achieving its target of 3% organic sales volume growth in 2003.


“We have doubts about being able to reach it but we’re not lowering the target,” Alberto Ferraris was quoted by Reuters as saying. 


He added that the company was focusing on increasing profitability rather than volume growth.


Ferraris said he expected Parmalat’s full-year 2003 EBITDA margin to be slightly higher than the 12.1% registered in the first half.


“We will maintain the first-half EBITDA margin for the second half and by the end of the year we will go slightly higher,” Ferraris said.