Drinks giant Gruppo Campari has seen its first-quarter sales rise by 15%, with organic sales growth of 5.7%, boosted by both a positive foregoing exchange impact, and the acquisition of Gran Marnier last summer.
The group posted sales of €376.6 million for the period, up from €327.4 million in the same period last year. EBITDA was up 27.8%, to €77.8 million. Group pre-tax profit was €53.6 million, a rise of 34.2% on the previous year – again, boosted by the recent acquisition.
"We had a good start to 2017, delivering results in line with expectations in a low-seasonality quarter," commented Bob Kunze-Concewitz, the company's chief executive officer.
"We achieved sustained overall growth in both organic and reported terms, across all performance indicators, thanks to a continuous improvement of our sales mix by brand and region. This good performance was delivered despite the late Easter and the expected phasing effects relating to accelerated investments in advertising and promotions, and new distribution capabilities."
European Performance
In the group's North, Central and Eastern Europe division, which accounts for 17.4% of group sales, sales were up 12.1%, driven by an organic change of +11.5% and an exchange-rate effect of +2.8%, as well as the Gran Marnier acquisition. However, in Germany – one of Gruppo Campari's largest markets – sales were down slightly.
In its larger Southern Europe, Middle East and Africa division, which accounts for 29% of sales, the group posted an overall decline of 1.6%, with Italy, which accounts for a fifth of the group's overall sales, seeing a 1.4% decline due to a late Easter.
In the Americas, sales were up 30.9%, with the US seeing strong growth. Its Wild Turkey brand was up 21.8% in this market, while Aperol rose by 74.1% and Campari by 29.9%.
Looking ahead to the coming year, Kunze-Concewitz said, "[The outlook] remains fairly balanced and unchanged. Macro and political environments remain uncertain in most developed markets, whilst challenges in emerging-market economies will persist. However, we remain confident in delivering a positive performance for the full year, on both the top and bottom lines."
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up for ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
