LONDON (Alliance News) - Spirits producer Stock Spirits Group PLC said Wednesday it saw revenue, profit, and volumes grow in the first half of the year.
For the six months ended June 30, Stock Spirit's total revenue grew 5.3% to EUR124.1 million, from EUR117.8 million a year before. Pretax profit rose to EUR16.9 million from EUR15.7 million year-on-year.
The company lifted its interim dividend by 5% to 2.50 cents from 2.38 cents a year before.
Total sales volumes were slightly ahead at 5.8 million 9 litre cases compared to 5.7 million a year before.
Stocks Spirits said its Polish business stabilised over the half and is slowly moving into growth and producing increases in volumes, market share and sales despite a "competitive environment".
In Czechoslovakia, revenue grew to EUR31.9 million from EU 30.9 million but profit growth was impeded by changes to promotional strategies by retailers. Stock Spirits said total volume in the region was down push 3.1% due to a "shift in promotional strategy".
Italy "remains a challenging market", Stock Spirits noted, with revenue declining to EUR11.5 million from EUR12 million and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation down to EUR1.2 million from EUR2.3 million.
The company also attributed this drop in Ebitda to its investment in Keglevich, a fruit flavoured range of Vodka
Keglevich aims to reach nearly 90% of the millennial target audience between now and December with the objective to "turnaround not just the brand but the flavoured sub-category it leads".
Looking forward, the company was optimistic, saying it is on track with its results for the calendar year as a whole.
Chief Executive Mirek Stachowicz said: "In these six months we have delivered growth in volumes, sales revenue, profit, and margins. Despite some challenges in our core markets, and in particular the competitive pricing environment in Poland, we believe that our ongoing focus on investment in our brands, product innovation and premiumisation are working well and we are well positioned to achieve further growth in the second half of the year and beyond."
Shares in Stock Spirits were up 2.9% at 213.50 pence each on Wednesday.
