Italian drinks manufacturer Campari Group has reported sales of €1.82 billion in its 2017 full-year results, representing growth of 5.2% overall, and organic growth of 6.3%.
The company, which produces brands such as Aperol, Campari, Wild Turkey and Grand Marnier, says that performance was boosted by continued improvement of its key brands in core markets.
Adjusted EBIT rose by 8.7% on an organic basis, to €380.5 million, and adjusted group net profit grew by 17.5%, to €233.4 million.
"We achieved a strong performance across the key indicators in full-year 2017, consistently delivering on strategy, thanks to our focus and disciplined execution," said Bob Kunze-Concewitz, chief executive of Campari Group.
"This achievement enabled us to fuel accelerated investments in brand-building and distribution-enhancing initiatives for future growth, and, at the same time, expand our EBIT margin ahead of sales growth," Kunze-Concewitz added.
Brand Boost
Campari Group says that full-year sales increases were seen by its global priorities (+7.7%), driven by Aperol and Campari, as well as regional priorities (+13%), driven by Espolòn, Bulldog and GlenGrant.
In particular, the group's largest brand, Aperol, continued to outperform, with overall sales up by 19.5%, driven by sustained growth in the brand's core markets (Italy, Germany, Austria and Switzerland), as well as double-digit growth in 'high potential markets', such as France (+27.3%), Spain (+40%) and the US (+51.3%).
Campari Group is expecting to continue the positive growth trend this year.
"Looking ahead into 2018, our outlook remains fairly balanced in a still uncertain macroeconomic scenario for some emerging markets," said Kunze-Concewitz.
"We remain confident in achieving a positive performance across the key indicators into 2018, driven by the continued outperformance of the high-margin global and regional priorities in the key developed markets," he added.
The company also announced that the disposal of its Lemonsoda business and its acquisition of Bisquit cognac both closed in January 2018.
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Sarah Harford. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
