Strong Growth in Co-packing at Refresco Gerber
Refresco Gerber, the leading European bottler of soft drinks and fruit juices for retailers and branded customers, has reported 1.2% organic growth in volume to 3.05 billion litres for the first half of 2015 with revenue remaining flat at €1.01 billion. Volume growth was mainly driven by the group’s co-packing business, which increased by 12.5% in volume compared to the first half of previous year.
The increase in co-packing enabled Refresco Gerber to maintain a strong gross profit margin per litre of 14.2 cents, the key indicator in the development of the business. This resulted in a solid adjusted EBITDA of €104.7 million for the first half of 2015.
Hans Roelofs, chief executive of Refresco Gerber.
However, due to product mix effects Refresco Gerber expects that the gross profit margin per litre will drop slightly in the second half. “For the full year 2015 we reconfirm our guidance, anticipating a low to mid-single digit growth of volume with gross profit margin per litre coming down marginally compared to the full last year (2014: 14.2 euro cents),” says Hans Roelofs, chief executive of Refresco Gerber.
Having successfully listed on Euronext Amsterdam last March, Refresco Gerber has been able to refinance its high yield bond related debt, lowering finance costs considerably and permitting the continued execution of its growth strategy. “With a healthy pipeline of potential acquisition targets we are well positioned to further pursue our buy & build strategy going forward,” he says.
