- Sales in final quarter of 2022 rise 9.6% to EUR691.9m [US$739.3m]
- First nine months’ 19% jump helps full-year sales to EUR2.7bn – +16.4%
Campari Group closed out last year in healthy condition, despite a deceleration of sales growth in the closing quarter.
The 9.6% top-line rise in the three months to the end of December followed a stronger first nine months of the year, resulting in a 16.4% increase in sales for 2022. The performance positions the company at the top of the tree of listed spirits brand owners to have announced their latest results so far, bettering previous leader Cuervo’s +16% leap reported last week.
Like many of its peers, Campari noted the role that price increases played last year, along with what the company called "robust brand momentum". Flagship aperitif Aperol has continued to benefit not only from 'cocktails-at-home' and the recovering on-premise channel, but also from efforts by its owner to "deseasonalise" the brand in Europe. Aperol's 12-month sales leapt by 28.2%.
Other brands to earn praise were Campari itself, up almost 24% due in part to increased consumer interest in cocktails such as the Negroni Sbagliato, and Wild Turkey Bourbon, which grew sales by 26.2% thanks again to the "classic cocktail revival".
Elsewhere, Espolòn Tequila leapt by a third, although the Skyy vodka brand was down 1.8%.
The US, the group's largest market, delivered a 14% lift in sales, driving the 'Americas' reporting region higher in importance to Campari. While the usual suspects of Aperol, Campari and Wild Turkey were credited for their US showings, Espolòn's double-digit jump in the market garnered top billing.
Elsewhere, lifts from the other three regions were clouded slightly by the 1.5% Q4 dip in Italy, the group's home market, due to "the glass availability constraints on Cinzano sparkling wines in its peak season and a tough comparison base".
Looking forward, CEO Bob Kunze-Concewitz said: "To satisfy future demand, we are accelerating our investments in supply chain with the aim to double our overall production capacity in key aperitifs, Bourbon and Tequila categories."
Further details were not disclosed.
Campari Group's official Q4 & full-year 2022 results announcement.
