Soft drinks group Kofola sees sales, EBITDA rise in H1

Ostrava, North Moravia, Aug 31 (CTK) - Soft drinks group Kofola saw its sales rise by 9 percent yr/yr to Kc4.05bn in H1, while its EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) rose by 39 percent to Kc581.1m, Kofola told CTK in a press release today.

Despite the decline in the volume of litres sold, Kofola's profit margin is beginning to approach the level before the COVID-19 pandemic. In view of the good performance to date, Kofola's management has resolved to propose to the general meeting a 2022 dividend of Kc13.50 per share before tax, the company said. Last year, Kofola paid a dividend of Kc11.30.

"From our point of view, the season is slightly below expectations. After a three-year period of crisis, we are slowly returning to the normality and stability to which we have become accustomed. In 2019, we were operating with an EBITDA margin of 20 percent, and we are currently still below that. Our clear goal is to return to pre-crisis levels," says Daniel Burys, CEO of Kofola in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Kofola said its sales were achieved thanks to strategic management and ideal portfolio diversification. The new products launched by Kofola contributed positively to the revenues, the firm said. They included Semtex Extrem, a non-taurine energy drink, Targa Florio tonics and Jupik popsicles, which the company launched in cooperation with Bidfoot.

The UGO division, which runs juice and salad bars in Czechia and Slovakia, performed beyond expectations, according to the company. Its sales increased by 22 percent yr/yr, said UGO head Marek Farnik. UGO generated a net profit in Q2, he added.

Kofola is a leading soft drinks maker in Central Europe. It has 11 plants in five European countries and employs more than 2,000 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, Slovenian company Radenska and Croatian mineral water producer Studenac.

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

Kofola's financial results (in Kc mil.):

	H1 2023*	H1 2022*	change 2023/2022	change in pct
sales	4,052.8	3,717.1	335.7	9.0
EBITDA	581.1	418.0	163.1	39.0

*adjusted for one-off items

Source: Kofola

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