Campari ‘priority’ brands push YTD sales

Italy’s Gruppo Campari has announced solid single-digit sales growth in the first nine months of its fiscal year, despite weakness in some emerging markets.

Gruppo Campari has reported solid sales for its “Global Priority” brands portfolio

In the first nine months of 2015, the group’s sales totaled €1.15 billion, showing a reported increase of 7.9% thanks to its “Global Priority” brands – Campari, Aperol, Skyy Vodka and Wild Turkey Bourbon – and their performances in the developed markets.

“We achieved positive growth across all key performance indicators in the first nine months of 2015,” said Bob Kunze-Concewitz, CEO of Gruppo Campari.

“In particular, notwithstanding the increased weakness in some emerging markets (particularly Russia, Brazil and Nigeria), key profitability indicators, organic growth and margin expansion, showed very positive performance and accelerated in the third quarter.”

To reflect structural changes at the company, Campari has reorganised its reporting segments into: the Americas, SEMEA (Southern Europe, Middle East and Africa), North, Central and Eastern Europe and Asia Pacific.

In the Americas, the group reported growth of 15.5%, boosted by a “favourable exchange rate”, as well as “positive performances” for Wild Turkey Bourbon and Campari’s Jamaican rums, particularly Appleton Estate. Sales of Skyy Vodka, however, remained “flat”.

In Southern Europe, Middle East and Africa, sales grew 5.4%, boosted by the acquisition of the Averna bitters brand. Looking at the North, Central and Eastern European markets, sales decreased 1.7% due to the devaluation of the Russian rouble.

Sales increased 3.8% in Asia Pacific, however China reported a “soft” performance due to the “temporary weakness” of Campari’s sparkling wines portfolio.

“Looking forward, we are on track to achieve a positive full year performance. We expect the improvement in operating margins achieved in the first nine months 2015 to continue for the remainder of the year,” continued Kunze-Concewitz.

“Overall, notwithstanding the increased weakness in some emerging markets, we expect risks and opportunities to be evenly balanced for the remainder of the year.”