Gruppo Campari toasts positive 2011 results

Gruppo Campari has announced “very positive” results for 2011, which saw growth across all of its business sectors and a dividend increase of 16.7%.

Sales rose by 9.6% – with organic growth at 8.8% – across the group’s various markets and business platforms.

International business was up to 68.4% of consolidated net sales (from 65.8% in 2010) and spirit sales increased from 75.4% to 76.6%.

The Americas accounted for the majority of sales, 33.5% an increase of 5.4%, with the US in particular posting an organic increase of 3.3% thanks to the popularity of Wild Turkey and Skyy Infusions.

The continued growth of Aperol drove sales in Germany and Austria in particular and the brand overall is now the group’s largest by value, with more than half of its sales taking place outside of Italy.

Total sales stood at €505.5 million and the group announced a net profit of €159.2m (up 1.9%), while a statement said that success was due to “increased investments in marketing, innovation and strengthened route-to-market”.

Bob Kunze-Concewitz, the group’s CEO, said: “Full year 2011 results confirm the solid underlying trends of Gruppo Campari. The significant investments in marketing and in route-to-market, coupled with product innovation and acquisitions, further strengthened our business, broadening our development opportunities in terms of product and market combinations.

“While the traditionally small first quarter will be soft in 2012 due to a very tough comparison base and some isolated events, which are expected to be recovered throughout the remainder of the year, our expectations for the full year 2012 remain cautiously optimistic.

“Notably, we expect our strong business fundamentals to continue supporting our positive overall momentum and help overcome the challenges created by the weak macroeconomic environment, strained credit situation and business transitions. Moreover, we remain confident of the medium to long term potential of our key growth engines.”