Packaging firm Verallia said that its third quarter performance 'turned out to be much better than expected', as a 4.2% increase in sales volumes helped lift revenue.
The group posted a 5.3% increase in revenue in the quarter (+8.9% organic growth), which was boosted by a 'particularly dynamic' volume performance in Latin America, Italy and to a lesser extent, Iberia.
Over the first nine months of the year, the group posted a 2.3% increase in revenue at constant exchange rates (-1.0% on a reported basis) to €1.96 billion. Adjusted EBITDA for the nine month period was €474 million, which is on a par with the previous year.
'Higher Than Forecast'
"Higher‐than‐forecast sales volumes in the third quarter, particularly in Italy and Latin America, enabled Verallia to achieve an organic growth of 8.9% in the quarter and of 2.3% over the first nine months of the year," commented Michel Giannuzzi, Verallia chairman and CEO.
"The group's three strategic pillars, namely the operational leverage linked to volume growth, the positive inflation spread and the sustained deployment of the operational excellence programme, continued to bear fruit. As volumes were better than expected in the third quarter and despite visibility remaining limited, Verallia is raising its objectives for 2020."
Full-Year Outlook
In terms of its full-year performance, Verallia now expects to post a 'slight decrease' in sales volumes in 2020, compared to the previous year, as well as 'slightly positive' organic revenue growth, and an adjusted EBITDA of around €590 million.
In October, the group announced a new environmental programme, 'Re-imagine glass for a sustainable future', which it said demonstrates its willingness to 'play a leading role in the transformation of the packaging sector, to go even further and faster by strengthening the circular and virtuous dimension of glass packaging'.
© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
