Lucas Bols FY sales fall 4%

Revenue for Dutch drinks firm Lucas Bols totalled €96.6 million (US$104.76m) in the year ending March 2024, a 4% fall on the previous year.

The firm cited ‘softened consumer demand, some downtrading and widespread destocking’ as reasons for the decline.

Gross profit decreased by €2.8m (US$3m) to €49.2m (US$53.3m).

Revenue for its ‘global cocktail brands’ division, which comprises Bols, Galliano and Passoã, fell by 5% to €66.3m (US$71.9m).

Its ‘regional liqueurs and spirits’ portfolio, which includes Tequila Partida, Fluère and Nuvo, saw revenue dip by 1% to €30.3m (US$32.9m).

Lucas Bols acquired alcohol-free brand Fluère in January 2023 and Nuvo liqueur six months later.

The firm also stated that its acquisition by Nolet, first announced in October 2023, was declared unconditional in February 2024. Nolet now holds approximately 75.8% of Lucas Bols’ outstanding capital, having offered €18 (US$20) per share.

In terms of brands, the firm said that Bols Cocktails, which comprises liqueurs, vodkas, genever and ready-to-drink cocktails, showed ‘high single-digit depletions growth’, mainly driven by liqueurs. It pointed to the US and Japan markets as successes and stated that China experienced double-digit growth.

Passion fruit liqueur Passoã had a ‘solid year-on-year performance’ in the Netherlands, Germany, the US and Puerto Rico, though it experienced a slowdown in the UK, France and Scandinavia.

Lucas Bols agreed to distribute The Muff Liquor Company’s Irish spirits portfolio in the US last month.

Huub van Doorne, CEO of the Lucas Bols Company, said: “Adverse market circumstances accelerated in the second quarter of our financial year, impacting our business performance.

“Customers have destocked heavily following a significant increase in interest rates, and consumers are much more wary when it comes to how and where they spend their money. Nevertheless, we saw an increase in depletions, evidencing the resilience of our cocktail strategy and strong brands.

“Despite industry-wide challenges, the Lucas Bols team worked hard to successfully deliver on important projects such as the transfer of production in the US and the implementation of our no- and lower-alcohol cocktail strategy, with significant strides also being made in our ESG [environmental, social and governance] journey.

“While the macroeconomic environment remains challenging and a full recovery in consumer demand is not expected in the short term, I am confident that our distinctive brands are well positioned in the global cocktail market: an attractive sector with strong medium and long-term growth prospects.

“The exciting distribution partnership with the celebrity-backed Muff Liquor Company launches in the second half of the 24/25 financial year and will further strengthen our proven US distribution platform.

“The new ownership of the Lucas Bols Company is very supportive to us achieving our goals and we look forward to working with them on our future endeavours.”