Soft-drink bottler Refresco has reported revenue growth of 76% in the third quarter of its financial year, amounting to €1,026 million.
The adjusted EBITDA for the period was €97 million, up from €61 million in the third quarter of 2017.
The total group volume saw an increase of 62.9% in the quarter, to 3,019 million litres, the company noted.
Solid Volume Growth
Refresco chief executive Hans Roelofs commented, “This quarter's numbers show solid overall volume development.
“The weather conditions that Europe experienced for most of Q3 had a positive impact on the volumes, reflecting the seasonality of our business in an unparalleled manner,” added Roelofs.
However, the gross profit margin for the period slipped to 39.8%, from 44.3% in 2017.
Roelofs attributed the performance to the increased sales of products with a lower margin, like water and soft drinks, and the acquisition of Cott's bottling business.
“Our net results were also impacted by one-off acquisition costs, headwind in packaging material costs, and by hiccups in the supply chain, where we saw a market shortage of cans and CO2,” he added.
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
