Campari Q3 sales below consensus despite 4.4% increase

By James Bayley

Published: 26 October, 2023

Italian liqueur group Campari has revealed its third quarter like-for-like sales rose 4.4%, below analyst expectations, due to a very tough comparison base (Q3 2022: +18.6%) and unfavourable weather conditions in Europe.

However, net sales are up by nearly 10% in the first nine months of the year courtesy of solid brand momentum, particularly aperitifs, tequila and premium bourbon, as well as robust pricing across the portfolio.

The Americas, which represents 44% of the group’s sales was up by 6.5% in terms of organic growth. The US grew by 9.1% and 4.9% in the third quarter specifically, reflecting the very tough comparison base (Q3 2022: +30.2%) as well as industry normalisation, although Campari continues to outperform the overall market both in terms of Nielsen and the NABCA data.

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Meanwhile, the UK grew by 14.7% thanks to momentum in the aperitifs and Wray & Nephew Overproof, despite difficult consumer dynamics as well as unfavourable weather in the third quarter.

In terms of brands, Aperol delivered strong growth across all markets (+23.3%), with positive momentum continuing during the peak summer season despite poor weather, boosted also by pricing and strong consumption, particularly in Germany.

Campari delivered solid growth of 9.2% despite a softer Q3 (+1.8%) which reflected a tough comparison base (Q3 2022: +26.0%).

However, Grand Marnier was impacted by the US destocking in the first half and declined by 21.8%, despite normalisation of the trend in the third quarter.

By contrast, the Jamaican rum portfolio grew 7.8% overall, driven by core markets the US and the UK due to continued favourable category trends in premium rum.

Reflecting on the results, Bob Kunze-Concewitz, CEO, Campari Group, said: “Overall, our strong performance continued into the nine months thanks to solid brand momentum, in particular from aperitifs, tequila and bourbon, as well as robust pricing across the portfolio, whilst also reflecting the expected normalisation in the third quarter and the impact of poor weather in Europe.

“Looking at the remainder of 2023, we expect our topline performance to reflect the strength of our key brands with continued outperformance vs core reference markets, positive pricing and the continued normalisation of volume growth.”

He added: “On a full-year basis, we confirm our guidance of a flat organic margin despite the current volatile macro-environment. In addition, we expect the negative forex trends to continue, reflecting the weakening US dollar and other key emerging market currencies as well as the appreciation of the Mexican Peso.

“In the medium term, we remain confident to continue delivering strong organic topline and margin expansion leveraging mix improvement as well as input cost inflation easing.”

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