Marie Brizard Wine & Spirits revises sales forecast

Marie Brizard Wine & Spirits has revised its financial targets as the French drinks groups’ “normalisation” plan comes to an end.

The group, producer of the William Peel Scotch and Sobieski vodka brands, estimates that by 2018 it will achieve sales of between €450 and €500 million. Initially, the firm forecast sales of between €420m and €460m.

Following the “rationalisation” of Marie Brizard’s distribution assets, the firm has revised its EBITA to a 15% margin. Meanwhile, revenue from the sale of assets has been revised to €40m.

Marie Brizard Wine & Spirits, which recently changed its company name from Belvédère, implemented the “ambitious” BiG 2018 strategic plan in 2014 to target growth, cutting jobs from its global workforce and offloading “loss-making” operational assets.

In 2014, Marie Brizard focused on “cleaning up” it operations, while 2015 marked the first year of the implementation of the plan.

“More than ever, our ambition is to establish Marie Brizard Wine & Spirits as a player at the very heart of the wine and spirits market, and this first year of implementation confirms that it is our rightful place, with a positioning that perfectly matches the expectations of our customers,” said Jean-Noël Reynaud, CEO of Marie Brizard Wine & Spirits.

“Lastly, our cash flow forecasts, combined with the continued improvement in our working capital requirements, the upward revision in revenue from the divestment of non-strategic activities and the upcoming restructuring of our stock warrants further strengthen our confidence in our ability to shortly exit the business continuation plan.

“This will represent the final element in our group’s normalisation.”

The group said it had “successfully reached key milestones” in its restructuring process, including recuperating operational control in Bulgaria, adopting a new company name, ending a dispute with tax authorities and doubling its EBITDA target.

To further “optimise” its operations, the group is endeavoring to renegotiate its Scotch whisky supply contracts, strengthen its route to market in Africa and invest €20 in upgrading its “industrial footprint” in vodka.

Marie Brizard also noted that its stock market price has risen 73% since 1 January 2015.

When announcing its Q3 results earlier this month, the group revealed it had been targeted by an “unacceptable blackmail attempt” with regards to its Krupnik bottle.