Raisio, the parent company of the Benecol and Elovena brands, has said that the 'political situation' in the UK has lead to a drop in demand in one of its key markets, however its overall performance remains strong.
Raisio reported group net sales of €69.2 million in the third quarter of its financial year, an increase of 9.7%.
Health Food
Of this, its Health Food Unit (which includes Benecol) posted sales in line with the previous year, at €33.6 million, while its Healthy Ingredients unit posted sales of €42.3 million, up from €35.9 million for the same period the previous year.
Group EBIT for the period was €10.7 million, accounting for 15.5% of net sales, the group said.
Raisio's chief executive, Pekka Kuusniemi, described the period as "extremely strong", despite increased grain prices at the start of the year, which the company has since overcome.
UK Challenges
On the UK situation, meanwhile, Kuusniemi said, "The political situation in Great Britain has affected consumer confidence and, in terms of purchasing behaviours, there has been a drop in overall demand towards the end of the review period. Using all means at our disposal, we have prepared for any future changes, some of which cannot be predicted."
Kuusniemi added that the brand has held back from promotional activity in the UK as a result of these political tensions. The company said that UK net sales for the Benecol business 'fell short' of the same period the previous year.
European Markets
In terms of the group's other European markets, Ireland saw an increase in net sales, 'primarily as a result of the reorganising of sales and marketing', it said, while Belgium saw declines due to changes in distribution.
In the group's Northern Europe division, which posted an increase in sales to €12.9 million (up from €12.3 million), sales were boosted by new Benecol and Elovena product launches in Finland, with Benecol seeing a 17% increase in sales compared to the corresponding period the previous year.
In Eastern and Central Europe, sales totalled €5.7 million, with Russia seeing a 'remarkable' increase in net sales, Ukraine similarly posting a sales increase and Poland seeing sales down.
Looking ahead to the full year, Raisio is anticipating 'net sales for continuing operations to grow, and comparable EBIT to be over 10% of net sales', the company said.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
