Portuguese juice and soft drink producer Sumol+Compal has recorded an 8.8% growth in sales during the first half of 2017, to €168.5 million.
The company's turnover in the period increased by 8.4% to €172 million, while profit increased to €2.5 million, from €300,000 a year earlier.
Sumol+Compal says that this result was boosted by the company's performance in foreign markets, with sales growing by 19.6% to €50 million.
Meanwhile, in Portugal the business was affected by a new tax on sugary drinks, which came into effect on 1 February. Despite the new tax, however, sales in Portugal grew by 4.9% to €118.5 million in the first half of the year. The company says that the impact of the new tax was counterbalanced by the positive performance of juices, water and beer in the HoReCa channel .
2017 Outlook
Regarding the outlook for the rest of the year, Sumol+Compal says that beverage sales in Portugal should show a moderate pattern of growth, benefiting from consumer confidence and increasing foreign tourism.
However, due to the economic and financial instability registered in Angola, the group's main export market, further development 'is directly dependent and conditioned by the country's economic and financial environment'.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine
