- Full-year sales climb 59% to EUR92m (US$98.6m)
- Compared to pre-COVID 12 months to end of March 2020, sales rise 11%
- ‘Global Cocktail Brands’ benefit from on-premise return, up 64% at EUR66.2m
Cocktails specialist Lucas Bols has bounced back to pre-pandemic sales levels, although cost pressures are expected to remain in the months ahead.
The Netherlands-based company, which owns the Bols and Passoã liqueur brands, posted a near-60% leap in sales from the 12 months to the end of March. Compared to fiscal-2020, the top line was up by double digits.
In the announcement late last month, the group credited the “gradual reopening of the on-trade” as driving the performance but admitted supply chain issues and raw material costs made their presence felt not only during the financial year but also in the months ahead.
For the Bols portfolio, the on-premise return in the US and Europe pushed sales beyond the levels prior to COVID despite ongoing restrictions in markets such as Japan. The group made upbeat reference to Bols’ ‘Ready to Enjoy’ premix extension, which was released in the US and the Netherlands late last year. Thanks to the pandemic, ‘cocktails at home’ is a consumer trend that is still an opportunity for the likes of Lucas Bols.
Elsewhere, Passoã, which targets the Porn Star Martini cocktail and came under the company’s full control in late-2020, performance in the US was described as “outstanding”.
On a by-region basis, Lucas Bols groups its markets as:
- ‘Sophisticated Cocktail Markets‘ – The US, Canada and Puerto Rico
- ‘Developed Cocktail Markets‘ – Western Europe, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, and
- ‘Emerging Cocktail Markets‘ – Eastern Europe, Asia (excluding Japan), Latin America, Africa and the Middle East
Sales growth came from all three, although the ‘Sophisticated’ markets cluster was the only one to deliver an increase on fiscal-2020 (+38%).
While flagging the introduction of consumer-facing price rises during the period, the group warned that “further … increases” are lined up although these should be offset by “relatively high” inventory levels.
“In 2021/22, global supply chain disruptions affected both the availability and pricing of raw materials and logistics, which were further impacted by the recent increase in macroeconomic and geopolitical instability,” said CEO Huub van Doorne. “As we foresee this continuing in the 2022/23 financial year, we have invested in our working capital by holding more inventory.
“While global circumstances continue to pose uncertainties, we proudly look back on an important and successful year while looking forward to the future with optimism, not in the least because we expect our ‘Global Cocktail Brands’ and key markets to continue growing.”
Lucas Bols’ official results announcement can be viewed here.
