Primo Brands has promoted director and former PepsiCo executive Eric Foss as the US-based waters group’s new chairman and CEO.
Foss is succeeding Robbert Rietbroek, another PepsiCo alumnus, who took the helm in 2023 and oversaw the merger of Primo Water and BlueTriton last year.
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In a statement announcing the appointment yesterday (6 November), Primo Brands did not disclose the reasons for the change at the top of the business.
However, the company said Foss is “ideally qualified to lead Primo Brands through its next phase of growth and shareholder value creation”.
The appointment was announced alongside a set of mixed third-quarter financial results, which included another cut to sales and earnings forecasts.
Director Dean Metropoulos added: “He knows the company well, having served on our board and the board of Primo Water. With his extensive experience as chairman and CEO of global branded beverage and direct-store-distribution businesses, Eric is highly qualified to lead Primo Brands’ future growth and value creation.”
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By GlobalDataFoss’s previous roles included CEO of foodservice business Aramark between 2012 and 2019. Before that, he was the CEO of Pepsi Beverages Company and chairman and chief executive at Pepsi Bottling Group.
Foss said: “The company is well-positioned in the large, attractive and growing healthy hydration market. We have an industry-leading brand portfolio, a strong go-to-market system and a team of talented and committed teammates.
“We continue to progress, unlocking the power of last year’s business combination and have multiple growth vectors as we move forward. I want to thank Robbert [Rietbroek] for his service and contributions.”
Third-quarter net sales increased 35% to $1.76bn helped by higher volumes from the merger. Comparable net sales declined 1.6%.
However, operating income fell 7% to $146.4m. Net income slid 68.4% to $16.8m, in part due to discontinued operations.
Net income from continuing operations stood at $40.5m, versus $53.3m.
The company reported a “comparable adjusted EBITDA margin of 22.9%”, which it said was up 180 basis points on a year earlier.
“In the third quarter, we grew retail net sales and volume and expanded both dollar and volume share, with double-digit net sales growth in our premium water brands, Saratoga and The Mountain Valley,” CFO David Hass said. “We delivered strong performance from our exchange and refill offerings, with growing distribution, volumes, and net sales. We continue to focus on strong execution in our delivery network as we work expeditiously to realise the benefits of the merger.”
However, Primo Brands now sees its annual net sales falling at a “low-single-digit” rate.
In August, the company set a forecast of a 0-1% rise, itself a downgrade an earlier projection of 3-5% growth.
Primo Brands now sees its 2025 adjusted EBITDA landing between $1.44bn and $1.46bn. It had been forecasting $1.49bn to $1.52bn.
