Kofola had a record summer. Despite a huge increase in input costs, it is on track to meet its annual targets
The Kofola Group has repeatedly confirmed that it can manage the crisis and maintain financial discipline even in difficult periods. Despite experiencing its strongest ever peak season sales, Kofola had to cope with huge increases in the prices of raw materials, packaging materials and energy. However, it reacted very flexibly and introduced cost-saving measures, which contributed to the fact that it now promises to meet its EBITDA target. The most difficult situation this year is in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, with the Adriatic region and the Group's subsidiaries LEROS and UGO helping to cope with the challenging period.
"The biggest challenge of the third quarter was to cope with the enormous impact of inputs growth. The fact that we were well prepared for the season helped us to cope with this situation. And it was successful both in Czechoslovakia and Adriatic. The weather was good and our sales teams did a great job. We were able to deliver our strongest ever main season sales. In the third quarter, our sales exceeded EUR 95.3 million, which was driven not only by the increase in the price of some products due to rising raw material prices, but also by high sales. However, rising input costs reduced the Group's overall EBITDA by almost 11%," comments Jannis Samaras, CEO of Kofola Group, on the results.
The company recorded record figures in the Adriatic. "In the HoReCa segment in Croatia, we even surpassed 2019 sales and grew by 35%. We are proud of this result," says Marián Šefčovič, CEO of Radenska. Total sales in Slovenia grew by little under 3% (in pcs), and in Croatia by a record 11% in the third quarter.
"LEROS also had a successful quarter, meeting its full-year EBITDA target already at the end of the ninth month. We were also pleased with UGO, which showed increased productivity at all levels. Its foodservice sales are at 132% of last year’s and its packaged assortment is up 7% compared to last year," says Jannis Samaras.
In the Czech Republic and Slovakia, beverages in KEG and in glass were the strongest growers. "Smaller packs for travel contributed to the high sales in Czechoslovakia. Among the retail formats, the waters - Ondrášovka, Korunní and Kláštorná Kalcia - were particularly successful," adds Daniel Buryš, Kofola's CEO in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Despite the difficult situation caused by increased inputs, Kofola has not given up on its long-term sustainability plans. In Krnov and Rajecká Lesná, the company has been involved in solving the drought problem and preparing water conservation measures. With the Vinea brand, it has established cooperation with local winemakers and prepared a limited edition of Vinea Kumšt Moštu with black mulberry juice. In the Moravian town of Strážnice, Leros set up a special workplace to help provide employment for the disadvantaged. UGO has joined the Challenge Lab, an innovation project whose participants are looking for a way to efficiently and sustainably process organic waste from Salaterias and Freshbars. In the area of packaging innovation, the company continued its eco-modulation - unifying PET bottle colours and savings on used materials.
Symbolically, 20 years since the Samaras family purchased the original Kofola formula, the company and the brand have received several significant awards. The Czech Goodwill Award for companies that people value was won by Kofola in the Made in Czechoslovakia category. Kofola was again voted the Most Trusted Brand of the Year by consumers. The award for the most environmentally conscious company went to Slovenia's Radenska (for a 1l returnable Pepsi bottle with a container made of 100% recycled material, the "zero waste event" Marathon of Three Hearts and the Green Slovenia campaign, which for the third year in a row, involved the planting of 10,000 trees).
Earlier forecasts had already suggested that the generally unstable economy, increased prices, and concerns about the future, could lead to a cooling of consumer demand. This began to show in October. "However, as we had prepared for it in advance, we decided to stick to the announced outlook for the end of the year despite the adversity. We aim to meet the lower end of the published EBITDA range, i.e. EUR 43.9 million," concludes Martin Pisklák, CFO of Kofola Group.
