- First-quarter sales decline 8.4% to CLP163.17bn [US$203.2m]
- Volumes in three months to end of March drop 9.7%
- US down double digits in both value and volumes
Viña Concha y Toro has cited a reduction in wine consumption as one of the reasons for a tough start to 2023.
The wine group has posted an 8.4% fall in sales from the three months to the end of March. The decline marks an acceleration on the -4.5% showing from the closing quarter of last year, when Concha y Toro witnessed “changes in buying patterns in several markets due to the challenging global situation of higher inflation”.
Those buying changes have continued into this year, the company said, with the US remaining "a challenging market that is still adjusting". Adding further details, the group noted a marked decline in wine sales in the country at the sub-US$12-per-bottle level.
Overall exports were down by 10% for Concha y Toro, although all its figures are on a reported basis and include currency fluctuations. Export volumes tumbled 15%, again due to reduced rates of wine consumption along with distributors and retailers managing their inventories more efficiently.
"The complex global situation, marked by inflationary pressures, excess inventory seeking to cover
logistics disruptions, economic slowdown, higher interest rates, cost increases for dry goods and
shipping costs and lower consumption, continued during the first quarter of 2023," said CEO Eduardo Guilisasti. "As such, our performance in this period was not in line with our forecasts.
"Our most conservative forecasts lead us to expect an improvement in sales during the second
half of the year, in the extent that the extraordinary global conditions that have affected the industry begin to recede and the measures taken by the company start to deliver benefits. Our forecasts suggest that we will exceed the volumes sold in 2022."
Viña Concha y Toro's official Q1 results announcement.
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