Croatian food processing and pharmaceutical company Podravka achieved HRK 2.98bn (€396.2mn) net sales (-1.6% y/y) in the first nine months of 2017.
Gross profit at the group amounted to HRK 1.05 billion (-4%), while net profit was HRK 54.1 million (-62%). Profitability was impacted by increased costs of severance payments and option shares, the lack of revenues from reverse loans and costs associated with a new pharmaceuticals factory.
Regional Breakdown
Of Podravka's total sales, 66% was achieved on foreign markets, with significant growth in Western Europe and overseas countries (+6.5%), Eastern Europe (+7.5%) and new markets (+35.1%). However, sales dropped in both the Adria (-3.6%) and Central Europe (-2.3%) regions.
The discontinuation of the group's Beverages segment had a significant impact on overall results – without it Podravka Group revenues would have achieved a 1.1% annual increase.
Revenues in the Food division amounted to HRK 2,37 billion (-3.8%), of which own brands accounted for HRK 2.18 billion (-4.7%).
The lower revenues from sales were, among other factors, influenced by the extraordinary administration over Croatian food and retail consortium Agrokor, which accounts for around 20% of Podravka Group’s food sales in the Adria region. As at 30 September 2017, the total receivables from Agrokor amounted to HRK 119.4 million (€15.8 million).
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine