Kofola ups sales 30 pct to Kc11.31bn in 2024

Ostrava, North Moravia, Feb 17 (CTK) - Beverage group Kofola saw its sales rise by 30.1 percent yr/yr to Kc11.31bn in 2024, its operating profit EBITDA growing by 49.6 percent to an all-time high of Kc1.87bn, according to preliminary results, Kofola told CTK in a press release today.

The results confirm the strength of the group, its brands and its ability to respond to changing market conditions, Kofola said.

"In 2025, the group's management plans to make major investments in the development of its business, while Kofola is also evaluating the impacts of the Slovak sugar tax and resolving the issue of Czech deposit system of PET bottles and cans," the company said. Slovakia has introduced a new tax on sweetened soft drinks from January this year.

The group's largest pillar, the beverage division in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, increased sales by 6 percent yr/yr in Q4 2024. "This result reflects our resilience to unexpected challenges, including production outages that occurred as a result of the floods and that particularly affected deliveries in the Czech Republic. Despite these complications, we managed to maintain the Czech market at last year's level," said Daniel Burys, CEO of Kofola in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

"In Slovakia, sales in the 4th quarter reached 120 percent compared to last year. This result was partly influenced by customers' pre-stocking at the end of the year in connection with the planned introduction of the sugar tax," Burys added.

The Zubr, Holba and Litovel beer brands were successful both on the domestic market and in exports. "We managed to cover the rising costs with higher sales volumes. Gross sales were 7.5 percent higher in the last quarter compared to last year (2023). In the Czech Republic, cans performed well, with sales increasing by 25 percent, followed by returnable glass, which grew by 12.5 percent," said Kofola's brewery group Pivovary CZ CEO Rene Musila.

On the other hand, kegs recorded a decline, which reflects the overall decline in beer consumption in the Czech Republic and the consequences of a difficult autumn," Musila added.

Last year's floods caused serious complications for the UGO brand, which was without production and deliveries for five weeks in the PET division (pascalized juices, smoothies, lemonades and kombucha) and QSR (Quick Service Restaurants - UGO's salateries and freshbars). "Raw material costs also became a challenge, as, for example, the prices of oranges and apples were very unstable and increasing due to ecological disasters," the company said. Despite this, Kofola managed to increase sales in the PET division by 18 percent yr/yr, it added.

Strong sales in Slovenia and Croatia were recorded by Radenska Adriatic, whose sales increased by 8.3 percent yr/yr thanks to the hot and sunny summer and the extended tourist season. "Sales in Croatia improved by double digits. EBITDA increased by 26 percent in 2024 compared to last year,” said Radenska Adriatic head Marian Sefcovic.

According to Kofola group CFO Martin Pisklak, the management indicates a consolidated EBITDA of EUR75.6–79.6m for 2025 with approximately 3 percent revenue growth. "2025 will be a year of major investments - we want to strengthen the efficiency of our production plants, logistics and commercial opportunities. Therefore, we expect CAPEX expenses of 60 percent of full-year EBITDA. However, we will maintain the group's total debt at the current 2.1 times EBITDA," Pisklak said.

Kofola is one of the most important producers of soft drinks in Central Europe, with 14 production plants on five European markets. It employs nearly 2,900 people. Its product brands include Kofola, Rajec, Korunni, Ondrasovka, Klastorna Kalcia, Jupi, Vinea and Semtex. The group also includes the UGO fresh and salad bars, Czech herbal tea maker Leros, the Holba, Zubr and Livovel beer brands of Pivovary CZ Group, Slovenian company Radenska and Croatian mineral water producer Studenac.

Kofola is majority owned by the Aetos company belonging to the Samaras family and other Kofola founders, Rene Musila and Tomas Jendrejek.

Kofola's preliminary unaudited financial results (in Kc bn):

	Jan 1, 2024 - Dec 31, 2024	Jan 1, 2023 - Dec 31, 2023	change 2024/2023	change 2024/2023 in pct
sales	11.31	8.69	2.62	30.1
EBITDA	1.87	1.25	0.62	49.6

Results are adjusted for one-off items.

Source: Kofola

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