(Reuters) -Lindt & Spruengli reported higher 2023 profit on Tuesday as the Swiss chocolate maker managed to pass on increasing raw material costs to customers amid a slowdown in the global chocolate market.

The net income rose 17.9% to 671.4 million Swiss francs ($758 million) for the full year ended Dec. 31, slightly beating the 670 million francs forecast by analysts at Zuercher Kantonalbank.

The manufacturer of Lindor balls and gold foil-wrapped Easter bunnies said it achieved an operating margin of 15.6% last year, up from 15% in 2022.

In January, Lindt reported a 10.3% rise in 2023 organic sales, as the post-COVID recovery in travel generated demand for higher-value products such as pralines.

It proposed an annual dividend of 1,400 francs per registered share, up from the 1,300 francs in the previous year.

Lindt confirmed its 2024 guidance for organic growth of 6% to 8%, as well as an improvement in the operating margin of 20-40 basis points.

($1 = 0.8853 Swiss francs)

(Reporting by Noele Ilien; writing by Bartosz Dabrowski; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Rashmi Aich)