July 30 (Reuters) - Danone SA DANO.PA CEO Emmanuel Faber and CFO Cecile Cabanis tell analysts:
* EARY LIFE NUTRITION SALES IN CHINA HIT IN Q2 BY HEADWINDS FROM HONG KONG BORDER CLOSURE, TRAVEL BANS AND DESTOCKING OF INDIRECT CHANNELS - CFO
* EYES FURTHER HIT TO MARGIN IN H2 FROM COVID-RELATED COSTS, NEGATIVE MIX AND INVESTMENTS - CEO
* SEES PROGRESSIVE NORMALIZATION FROM 2021 TOWARDS PRE-COVID FINANCIAL OBJECTIVES - CEO
* CEO: THE WORST IS BEHIND US IN TERMS OF TOPLINE GROWTH
*
* CEO: WE HAVE THE RIGHT PRODUCT CATEGORIES, WE ARE CONFIDENT THAT AS SOON AS THINGS NORMALIZE, WE WILL BE BACK TOWARDS OUR MID-TERM GUIDANCE
* CFO: EXPECT SAME COVID-RELATED COSTS IN H2 THAN IN H1
* CFO: WATER BUSINESS SALES TO SHOW GRADUAL IMPROVEMENT FROM LOW POINT IN MAY BUT NOT EXPECTED TO RETURN TO POSITIVE GROWTH BY YEAR END
* CFO: WE EXPECT THE PROFIT MARGIN TO REMAIN UNDER PRESSURE IN H2, WE WILL PROBABLY BE CLOSE TO THE H1 MARGIN
* CEO: WE HAVE NOT SEEN ANYTHING THAT LEAD US TO BELIEVE THERE IS A STRATEGIC ISSUE WITH BOTTLED WATER
* CEO: WATER BUSINESS WILL BE LOOKED AT AS THE REST OF THE PORTFOLIO AS PART OF REVIEW ON WHERE WE PUT OUR EFFORTS, EFFICIENCY