Kofola Group has had another record summer. The sales growth is also due to an extremely successful season in the Adriatic region.
Kofola Group has published its results for the third quarter of this year. Sales in this period grew by another CZK 34 million year-on-year, surpassing last year's record result by 1.6%. In the summer months, the Czech and Slovak markets as well as the Adriatic region performed well. The Adriatic region experienced a recovery thanks to the influx of tourists, who were missing last year due to pandemic measures in the region. Operating result EBITDA increased by CZK 81 million year-on-year in the first nine months of the year. As a result, Kofola's management has refined its full-year estimate to a range of CZK 1.08 - 1.12 billion and will propose a dividend payment at the November General Meeting.
"This year's summer season was even a bit better than last year's, which was a record season. Thanks to well-prepared activities and campaigns, we managed to once again take advantage of the presence of domestic tourists in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, as well as tourists from all over Europe who returned to Croatia and Slovenia for their holidays. And this time, the Adriatic region sales are the reason for the year-on-year growth in total sales," comments Jannis Samaras, CEO of Kofola Group, on the development of the third quarter of the year.
"On the Czech and Slovak markets, Kofola on draught has long been the summer sales leader. Consumers can enjoy it at more than fifteen thousand points of sale. This year, we have managed to increase the number of outlets again and together with the launch of successful new products to compensate for the slightly declining soft drinks market," says Daniel Buryš, CEO of Kofola ČeskoSlovensko. In the summer, Vinea bet on unique concept of Kumšt Moštu emphasizing its basis in grape juice from vineyards. Targa Florio, a new premium lemonade made from Sicilian citrus fruits, has established its place on the market and significantly exceeded expectations.
The ever-growing Kláštorná Kalcia then devoted another part of its communication campaign to promoting its sustainable packaging approach in the form of 100% rPET - bottles made only from recycled plastic. And the sustainable approach in the company's business was also reflected in other activities. Near the Ondrášovka plant, the company managed to take advantage of the experience of protecting water sources from Rajecká Lesná. "In cooperation with local farmers and the local government, we managed to certify additional BIO sites for harvesting herbs. Together with the Slovak territories, we have already certified 224 km2. We opened a LEROS herb buyout shop on the premises of the plant. Another herb buyout shop followed in Velké Karlovice," says Jannis Samaras, describing the development in the area. The production of UGO Dužinky biscuits, which use fruit and vegetable leftover pulp remaining from the Krnov production of paskalised juices, was realized with the bio bakery Biopekárna Zemanka.
The Group is preparing for the launch of the deposit-refund system for PET bottles and cans in Slovakia and has become one of the founders of the Initiative for a deposit-refund system for these packaging in the Czech Republic.
Growth in the Adriatic region
The year-on-year quarterly growth in Kofola Group's sales was mainly driven by the growth in demand in the Adriatic region. This was reflected by the 13.3% growth in sales. "Our region also saw a release of the pandemic measures before the summer, and at the same time, tourists, who wanted to spend their holidays in the attractive tourist areas of Croatia and Slovenia again, started to return to the region after the last year´s break. In combination with well-prepared marketing and sales activities, this had a positive effect on sales growth, especially in Croatia, which grew at a double-digit rate," explains Marián Šefčovič, CEO of Radenska Adriatic, and adds: "The biggest increase was achieved by the Studena brand. From the market segments, impulsive purchases and, of course, coast sales in the HoReCa channels grew the most."
Refinement of the EBITDA operating profit estimate and dividend payment proposal
From an economic perspective, the company has faced significant price increases for a number of key inputs throughout the year. These include energy, transport, packaging materials and sugar. The Group has already responded to this situation through price increase of selected products. "Thanks to the continued growth in the Group's total sales and our financial discipline set since the beginning of the year, we can confirm and refine our estimates for the final EBITDA result for 2021 in the range of CZK 1.08 billion to CZK 1.12 billion," explains Martin Pisklák, Chief Financial Officer of Kofola Group. "It also allows us to propose a dividend payment of CZK 13.50 per share at the November General Meeting," he adds.
