Campari beat first-half expectations with a 37% rise in sales on Tuesday as shops and restaurants reopened amid easing lockdowns, pushing shares in the Italian beverage maker to a record high.
Its January-June net sales of €1 billion ($1.18 billion) were also up 22% from the pre-pandemic first half of 2019.
Drinks consumption at home also helped boost sales, the company said.
The maker of the red Campari aperitif and orange Aperol liqueur said adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) rose 89% on an organic basis to €223 million.
'Strong Brand Momentum'
"Whilst uncertainty linked to the spread of COVID variants and the possible re-introduction of new restrictive measures persists, we remain confident about the continued strong brand momentum, fuelled by sustained marketing investments, accelerating in aperitifs peak season," CEO Bob Kunze-Concewitz said in a statement.
Campari shares were up 5.18% by 10:52 GMT, after hitting a record high of €12.07, versus a 0.6% fall in Milan's blue-chip index.
In May, Campari beat like-for-like sales expectations in the first quarter, helped by growing spirits consumption in the United States and northern Europe.
Regional Performance
In the Americas, the Aperol maker saw strong double-digit sales growth across the region against both 2020 and 2019, driven by
sustained home consumption combined with the gradual on-premise reopening.
The SEMEA region witnessed double-digit growth compared to the same period in 2020, benefiting mainly from the reopening of the on-premise sector in the second quarter along with an easy comparable base.
The Asia Pacific region also saw positive momentum, with Australia witnessing an 11.5% growth. Other markets such as China, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea also witnessed ‘strong growth’ benefiting from route-to-market changes and an easy comparison base.
Performance By Brands
Aperol sales increased by 42.1% across its core markets compared with the first half of 2020.
In Italy and the US, sales recovered with strong acceleration in the second quarter (+124.1% and +145.0% respectively), and positive trends continued in other core markets such as France, Russia, Germany, the UK, Switzerland, Australia and
China.
Campari registered a 39.5% year-on-year growth across all major markets, driven by home mixology consumption trends as well as the partial reopening of the on-premise channel in the brand’s core markets.
Campari’s sales grew by 24.6% when compared with the first half of 2019.
