Spirits continue to suffer for Anora Group
Nordic drinks company Anora Group posted a 5.3% drop in sales for the first half of 2025, with spirits lagging behind by 6.7%.
For the first half (H1) of 2025, from January to June, Anora Group’s net sales totalled €324 million (US$378.7m), with spirits accounting for €98.5m (US$115.1m).
The group’s spirits sales totalled €105.5m (US$123.3m) for the same period in 2024.
Meanwhile, in the second quarter (Q2), the group’s total net sales dipped by 6.6% to €165.5m (US$193.4m).
Anora’s gross profit for H1 was €135.5m (US$158.4m), down by 2.1% from last year.
The company’s comparable earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) were down by 8.6%, totalling €22m (US$25.7m). However, for spirits, EBITDA was up by 0.4%.
Q2 was the first full quarter overseen by recently appointed CEO Kirsi Puntila, who replaced Jacek Pastuszka. She said headwinds in the period included shifts in customer trends and poor summer weather in May and June, which affected sales in its traditionally strong markets.
She added that there were positive developments despite the difficult market environment. “We maintained strong cost control, resulting in reduced operating expenses,” she said.
“In Sweden, our targeted wine campaigns delivered promising results, and in Finland, we saw encouraging traction from new launches in the no- and low-alcohol categories. Koskenkorva continued to perform well, particularly within the liqueur and ready-to-drink segments.”
The group’s distribution network reaches nearly 30 global markets.
Norway lone Nordic market in growth, Finland still struggling
In Q2, the company’s net sales for spirits declined by 8.4% to €58.5m (US$68.4m).
Anora Group attributed the result to recently lost partners and a poor showing in Norway, one of its main markets.
Overall volumes in the Nordics for Q2 declined by 1.8%, with wine down by 2.1% and spirits up by 0.1%.
Norway was the only Nordic market in growth, increasing its sales in Q2 by 2.3%. However, the group noted this was driven by the ‘Easter effect’, with the holiday occurring in April 2025, rather than in March 2024, and is therefore not comparable.
Finland continued to slump, with spirits sales at the country’s alcohol monopoly, Alko, down by 5.9% in Q2.
In the period following the implementation of the Finnish Alcohol Act (June 2024 to May 2025), Alko saw a 10% decline in its spirits sales. This legislation bumped the ABV limit of fermented alcoholic beverages for sale in licensed retailers from 5.5% to 8%.
More positively, Anora’s flagship vodka Koskenkorva grew its net sales. The brand represents almost 18% of the group’s sales from spirits.
Anora launched long drinks for Koskenkorva earlier this year and reported ‘strong double-digit growth’ for its RTDs across key markets, plus growth within the vodka’s liqueur segment.
Additionally, although spirits saw lower volumes, the division’s gross margin improved to 45.2%, which Anora said is reflective of ‘the impacts of revenue and mix management’.
Updated strategy
Puntila said her confidence in the business has “only grown stronger”, but there is “work ahead to reach its goals”.
She concluded: “We are not only accelerating actions to improve our financial performance but also beginning to update our strategy to guide us through to 2028.
“Our work on an updated strategy for the next strategy period will be divided into the following phases: Fit & Fix and Focus. The Fit & Fix phases deliver short and mid-term performance improvement over 2025-2026, while Focus drives growth initiatives as of 2026 onwards.”
Puntila moved to Anora Group after a decade at Pernod Ricard. She is hoping to turn the company around after a year of decline.
In its market outlook for 2025, Anora Group expects key markets to be ‘relatively flat’ compared with 2025 for both value and volume. Its EBITDA is expected to be €70m-€75m.
In March, the Helsinki-based company invested in a new biomass boiler in its Koskenkorva Distillery, as it pushes towards carbon neutrality.
