Investments pay off for Duvel Moortgat
Belgian brewer Duvel Moortgat, which saw an increase in sales in
all of its main markets last year.
Investments and restructuring efforts in previous years began to bear fruit for Belgian brewing group Duvel Moortgat in 2002. Turnover increased 10.5 per cent to €52.5 million, while net profits remained steady at €6.8 million.
However, EBIT dropped by 3.6 per cent to €10.8 million, primarily due to a 13.9 per cent increase in depreciation charges related to Duvel's previous investments in its filtration operations, water purification and its office building.
"Duvel Moortgat performed remarkably well in 2002 in a macro-economic environment which was mainly characterised by a slump in consumer confidence and increasing economic recession," the company said. "Duvel Moortgat's growth came as beer consumption decreased in Belgium and a number of other European countries."
Sales of the group's main beer brands rose significantly compared to the previous financial year: Duvel sales rose by 8 per cent to just over 68 million bottles, while sales of Maredsous and Pilsner beers rose by 17 per cent and 6 per cent respectively.
Sales of Czech brand Bernard rose by 15 per cent in the first year after the brewery was acquired. Only Passendale, which is mainly distributed nationally, fell slightly (by 2 per cent). Sales of Freya fruit juices remained at the same level as the previous financial year.
At home, Duvel saw sales rise 7 per cent during the year, bucking the trend towards increasing consumption at home by showing substantial growth in the on-trade, driven mainly by its eponymous brand. Sales in the Netherlands rose by 1.3 per cent, despite a temporary slowdown in the speciality beers segment caused by price increases in the horeca segment.
In France, sales rose by 11.6 per cent after a major reorganisation of the company's sales organisation in the previous year. In the UK, Duvel grew by 30.8 per cent, the fifth year in a row that Duvel's sales have risen there. This success is mainly down to the increased commercial efforts and the growing interest of the UK consumer in speciality Belgian beers.
In the US, sales rose by 20.6 per cent, helped by the company taking control of its own distribution for the East Coast and increasing its participation in Belâme (which operates the Ommegang brewery) to 100 per cent. Duvel Moortgat now operates in the two most dynamic beer segments in the United States - imported speciality beers from Belgium and local premium micro-beers.
In the Czech Republic, Bernard's sales rose by 15 per cent despite the implementation of a 7 per cent price increase in April 2002, mainly due the decision to expand Bernard's position in the premium beer segment.
Duvel's non-Belgian operations now account for more than 30 per cent of total sales volumes.
The company said that for 2003 it planned to further increase sales in its priority export markets, and that, political and economic conditions permitting, it expected to see an improvement in sales and profits as a result. A new 55,000 bottles per hour bottling plant is in the process of being completed, and a new packaging line will come on line in the autumn, allowing the company to better meet the growing demand for its products.
