- Six-month sales – to end of June – decline 5.2% to EUR109.1m [US$116.7m]
- Significant reverse on 2022’s +6.7% top-line performance
- Volumes fall faster than overall Champagne industry, which dipped 4.7% in H1
Publicly-listed Champagne group Lanson-BCC has seen its sales struggle in the first half of this year as a mid-single-digit-decline offset growth in 2022.
The company, which is home to eight Champagne houses, saw its sales from the six months to the end of June fall by just over 5%. While Lanson-BCC conceded its volumes in the period delivered a “higher contraction … than the industry as a whole”, the company remained upbeat about its “premiumisation policy” which has been running since 2019.
Qualifying the higher-end approach was the +14.7% showing for net profits.
The company cited data from trade association Comité Champagne stating that the overall category’s volumes in H1 declined by 4.7% to 125.8m bottles, albeit “versus an exceptionally high basis for comparison from the first half of 2022”.
“The premiumisation policy … is continuing to move forward with determination and driving an improvement in results, which is essential to offset the increase in both grape prices and financial costs,” Lanson-BCC noted.
When discussing outlook for the full year, the group flagged that only a third of sales for Champagne occur during H1, “which is subject to half of fixed costs for the whole year”. A specific forecast for 2023 was not disclosed, based on “this lack of visibility”, Lanson-BCC concluded.
Lanson-BCC’s official H1 2023 results announcement.
Why this year’s harvest is crucial for Champagne – Category Intel
