Anora Group Plc   Interim report  7 May 2024 at 8:30 am EEST

Anora Group Plc's Interim report for 1 January - 31 March 2024

Comparable EBITDA improved in Q1 due to higher gross margin and cost reduction

This release is a summary of Anora Group Plc's Interim report January-March 2024. The complete report is attached to this release and is also available on the company website at: www.anora.com/en/investors

• Net sales were EUR 146.9 (159.5) million, down by 7.9%.
• Comparable EBITDA was EUR 8.9 (7.9) million, or 6.1% (5.0%) of net sales, up by 12.1%.
• EBITDA was 7.8 (6.9) million, or 5.3% (4.3%) of net sales, up by 12.9%.
• Net cash flow from operating activities was EUR -44.6 (3.6) million.
• Earnings per share was EUR-0.03 (-0.08).

Guidance

In 2024, Anora's comparable EBITDA is expected to be EUR 75-85 million (2023: EUR 68.2 million). 

Key figures

EUR million Q1 24 Q1 23 Change 2023
Net sales 146.9 159.5 -7.9% 726.5
Comparable EBITDA 8.9 7.9 12.1% 68.2
   % of net sales 6.1 5.0 9.4
EBITDA 7.8 6.9 12.9% 67.5
Comparable operating result 2.0 -0.7 34.8
   % of net sales 1.3 -0.4 4.8
Operating result 0.8 -1.7 -31.3
Result for the period -2.2 -5.6 -39.9
Earnings per share, EUR -0.03 -0.08 -0.59
Net cash flow from -44.6 3.6 135.3
operating activities
Net working capital -31.7 53.7 -79.2
Net debt/comparable EBITDA, 2.6 4.0 2.0
rolling 12 months
Personnel end of period 1,220 1,284 -5.0% 1,219

CEO Jacek Pastuszka:

"During the first quarter, we continued with our intensified focus on improving the profitability of our Wine and Spirits segments and on strengthening our cash position and balance sheet. This has been accomplished both by increasing the share of margin accretive businesses and by price increases and cost reductions initiated already last year. Also lower raw material prices and currency hedging supported our performance during the period.

As a result, our comparable EBITDA grew by 12.1 percent, and amounted to EUR 8.9 (7.9) million or 6.1 percent of net sales in the first quarter. Both Wine and Spirits segments delivered notable EBITDA growth and significant margin enhancements. The performance of our Spirits segment continues its positive development of 2023, with comparable EBITDA up by over 17 percent and gross margin up by 240bps from the previous year. We are also satisfied with the continued turnaround in the profitability of the Wine segment following the challenges of last year, underscored by its gross margin improvement of 270bps. The performance of Industrial was a drag on the overall Group results, due to lower production volumes and price erosion in side-product sales.

Net sales in the first quarter declined by 7.9 percent to EUR 146.9 million, mainly due to a decrease in Wine and Industrial net sales. In Spirits, all our four Nordic markets delivered net sales growth in Q1, whereas the performance of our international sales was weaker, partly due to the harbour strike in Finland that disrupted export deliveries with limited gross profit effect. Important to note, the early Easter impact was marginal due to fewer delivery days in March. In the Industrial segment, net sales were negatively impacted by lower sales prices due to the lower price of barley combined with reduced production volumes.

Overall, the monopoly markets showed a stable environment, albeit shoppers are still trading down and volumes are eroding slowly. Against this backdrop, our lower-mainstream wine and spirit offerings saw good growth in sales, demonstrating the breadth and flexibility of our product portfolio. Also, our own wine brands continue gaining momentum following the actions taken in the second half of 2023. In this market environment, our gross margin improved, while our gross profit was EUR 1.0 million (-1.6%) lower due to lower net sales.

Our efforts to reduce leverage also progressed well. At the end of the quarter our cash balance was high, supported by lower working capital due to inventory reduction and the Larsen divestment. Our cash and cash equivalents reached EUR 165.8 million. This resulted in lower net debt of EUR 176.6 million, while our net interest-bearing debt / comparable EBITDA ratio was 2.6x.

At the end of last year, we left our science-based emission reduction targets to be validated by the Science Based Targets initiative. This continues our ambitious sustainability work as the forerunners of the industry.

Looking ahead to the balance of 2024, we remain committed to our near-term actions to halt profitability decline through active mix and revenue management and to strengthen our cash position and balance sheet via reduced working capital and improved inventory turns. We are also intensifying our efforts to restore organic net sales growth in the Wine and Spirits business by investing in focused commercial agenda built around the largest brands and partnerships.

I am convinced that our current effective measures to markedly strengthen the Group's financial fundamentals will allow us to get back on track in delivering on Anora's long-term targets and strategy."

Outlook and guidance for 2024

Market outlook

In 2024, the volumes in our key markets are expected to be slightly lower than in 2023 due to challenging economic conditions.

Guidance

In 2024, Anora's comparable EBITDA is expected to be EUR 75-85 million (2023: EUR 68.2 million).

Anora's financial reporting for the year 2024

Anora will publish its half-year report for January-June 2024 on 20 August 2024 and its interim report for January-September 2024 on 7 November 2024.

Anora applies a silent period of 30 days before the publication of financial reports.

ANORA GROUP PLC

Further information:

Jacek Pastuszka, CEO

Sigmund Toth, CFO

Contacts:

Milena Hæggström, Director, Investor Relations

tel. +358 40 5581 328

milena.haeggstrom@anora.com

Results presentation:

CEO Jacek Pastuszka and CFO Sigmund Toth will present the report today at 11:00 am EEST. The presentation will be held as a Microsoft Teams Meeting. We recommend that participants join the event using the online meeting option: Join meeting here (http://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_MTM5NjAwNjItNDhjMi00ZmI1LWI1MjYtOWU3MTM4MWEwMDUz%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22c32b30ff-5871-4a7d-a29e-6f63e6b0ebfd%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%2298127208-0d9a-4acb-ab65-80cfc9f4fff6%22%7d).

It is also possible to dial-in to the meeting about 5 minutes earlier at the following numbers:

FI: +358 9 2310 6678

NO: +47 21 40 41 04

SE: +46 8 502 428 54

DK: + 45 32 72 56 80

UK: +44 20 7660 8309

US: +1 917-781-4622

Conference ID 727 749 663#

Q&A

Questions to the management can be sent through the Teams chat.

Presentation material and on-demand recording

The presentation material will be shared in the online meeting and it can be downloaded at: www.anora.com/en/investors. Recording of the presentation will also be available on Anora's website.

Distribution:

Nasdaq Helsinki

Principal media

www.anora.com