Netherlands-based drinks bottler Refresco has posted revenue of €583 million in the third quarter of the year, up 1.9% on the same period in 2016.
The company saw volumes, including acquisitions, increase 2.7% to 1.85 billion litres, however, adjusted EBITDA fell slightly to €61 million.
Despite this growth, Hans Roelofs, CEO of Refresco, described it as a "challenging quarter" with weak market conditions.
"Volumes increased by 2.7%, driven primarily by the acquisition of Whitlock Packaging in the US in 2016 and the continued growth in contract manufacturing," he said.
"Excluding acquisitions volumes declined due to poor summer weather in Western Europe and continued pressure on retailer brand volume."
The bottling company says that overall contract manufacturing showed solid volume growth across most geographies, but it incurred higher costs in the quarter relating to acquisitions and the restructuring of its Hamburg plant.
Acquisition Deal
Last month, Refresco announced that it reached a conditional agreement with a consortium of PAI Partners and British Columbia Investment Management Corporation for a potential takeover of the company.
The consortium has recommended a fully funded public offer for all the issued and outstanding ordinary Refresco shares, at a price of €20 per share, for a total consideration of €1.623 billion.
The deal would also include Refresco's recent acquisition of Cott's bottling activities, which is expected to be completed before the end of the year.
"We firmly believe this is a good transaction for our stakeholders and represents a fair price for shareholders," added Roelofs.
"Supported by the consortium's track record, financial strength and understanding of our business we will be able to accelerate our growth plans and move forward on our journey to put our drinks on every table."
The Rotterdam-based company operates 29 manufacturing facilities in the US and Europe.
© 2017 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.
