Croatia based food producer and distributor Atlantic Grupa has reported Q1 2019 sales of HRK 1.2 billion (€161.8 million), up 5.1% year-on-year.
EBIT increased by 24.3% to HRK 105.1 million (€14.2 million), while net profit grew 31.4% to HRK 80.9 million (€10.9 million) in the same period.
The major contribution to sales growth came from the group's Savoury Spreads (+14.7%) and Beverages (+9.6%) divisions.
However, Coffee stands out as the largest individual category with HRK 239.1 million (€32.2 million) in sales and a 19.9% share of total revenues.
The Snacks Unit recorded a 3.3% decrease in sales as a consequence of a drop in sales in Serbia, where this business unit accounts for almost two-thirds of revenue.
All markets recorded growth, but the best performing market for the business was Croatia, where growth reached 13.7% to HRK 276.5 million (€37.3 million).
Group Performance
Company-owned brands account for 65.8% of its total sales (mainly Argeta, Cockta, Cedevita, Smoki and Najlepše želje), third-party brands (such as Ferrero, Hipp and Rauch) were responsible for 25.3%, while pharmacy chain Farmacia contributed with 8.9%.
During the period. Atlantic Grupa completed the sale of the remaining segment of its Sports and Functional Food division, namely the brands Multipower, Champ and Multaben, to Germany’s Genuport. The sale is part of the strategy of disinvesting non-core business operations.
Logistics Investment
At the end of March, Atlantic Grupa opened a new logistics and distribution centre near Velika Gorica, investing about €20 million in the project.
During the quarter, a distribution agreement for North Macedonia was signed with cosmetics manufacturer Beiersdorf, including leading brands such as Nivea, Labello, Hansaplast and Atrix.
For full year 2019, Atlantic Grupa is forecasting sales of HRK 5.3 billion (+2.7%); EBITDA of HRK 630 million (+8.7%) and EBIT of HRK 445 million (+11.3%).
© 2019 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
