Campari collapses on the stock market after the publication of the accounts. At 13.00 the title it dropped 6% to 7,955 euros after being stuck for a few minutes. The market did not appreciate the 2018 financial statements, which ended with sales equal to 1,71 billion, down by 2,4% taking into account exchange rate effects, with the strengthening of the euro against all currencies of the group, and perimeter, due to the disposal of non-strategic businesses, such as the Carolans brands and Lemonsoda, (+5,3% organic growth).
disappoints theNet income, dropped to 296,3 million, down by 16,8% compared to the previous year (+6,8% the adjusted profit considering that in 2017 the group had benefited from one-off adjustments for a total of 123 million, among which also 26 million in tax benefits for the Patent Box).
Down by 2,4% also i revenues, which reached 1,711 billion, while theebit it stands at 380,7 million (-3,5%, +7,6% to 378,8 million adjusted EBIT).
The data fell short of analysts' estimates which forecasted sales of $1,714 billion, adjusted EBIT of $379 million and adjusted net income of $253 million.
Il free cash flow is equal to 235,6 million and the recurring free cash flow is 267,7 million (+7,2%), while the net financial debt it dropped to 846,3 million from 981,5 at the end of 2017.
The board proposes the distribution of a dividend from €0,05 per share, in line with the previous year.
Speaking of the individual brands owned by the group, it flies Aperol, which grew by 28,1%. Campari it marks +5,1% at the organic level, led by Italy, the main market for the brand, as well as by double-digit growth in the United States. The sales of Skyy recorded an organic decline of 8,1%, due to weakness in the US market.
L'ad Bob Kunze-Concewitz said: “We delivered solid performance across key indicators in terms of organic growth and margin expansion in 2018, reflecting a consistent long-term strategic delivery. In particular, over the past four years Campari Group has achieved a cumulative increase in gross sales margin of +680 basis points overall, as a result of the strong organic expansion of +390 basis points, driven by the favorable sales mix, accretive effect of our M&A transactions, including the disposal of non-strategic assets, and of the exchange rate effect for the remaining part. This important result made it possible to strengthen investments in brand building activities and commercial structures, to support long-term growth".
As for 2019, “We expect the current favorable trend in organic business performance to continue as we continue to face challenges from rising agave purchase prices. Despite this, we remain confident about achieving a positive performance in 2019 for the main organic indicators, driven by the continued outperformance of the main high-profitability global and regional priority brands in the Group's key markets”, concluded the CEO.
