Berentzen-Gruppe has cut its forecasts for annual revenue and operating profit, pointing to continued low consumer confidence.
Ahead of the planned publication of the Germany-based distiller and soft-drinks maker’s half-year results next month, the Pushkin vodka set out new projections for revenue and operating profit.
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The business now expects its revenues to be between €172m ($201m) and €178m in 2025, down from its previous forecast of €180-190m. In 2024, the group recorded revenue of €181.9m.
Berentzen-Gruppe is projecting consolidated operating profit to range between €8m and €9.5m this year. In 2024, it generated EBIT of €10.6m and had been forecasting between €10m and €12m for 2025.
“Development in the first half of 2025 thus fell short of our expectations, which is primarily attributable to very challenging market conditions in the spirits segment,” Berentzen-Gruppe CEO Oliver Schwegmann said. “When we set our forecast at the beginning of the year, we still assumed that the very poor consumer sentiment that manifested itself in 2024 would brighten significantly again in 2025. Instead, this trend has continued in 2025 and has even intensified across the entire alcoholic beverages market.”
Schwegmann said all promotions with discount retailers for the company’s Berentzen-branded liqueurs were cancelled in the first half.
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By GlobalData“This was one of the main reasons why the second quarter was weak for our branded spirits,” he added.
However, Schwegmann pointed to the 13.2% increase in revenues from the company’s Mio Mio soft-drinks brand, which he described as “finally back on its dynamic growth path”.
He added: “We achieved double-digit revenue growth with our premium and medium products from our private label spirits segment, which are strategically important, particularly for our international business. Overall, our strategic core areas therefore recorded an increase in revenues. This shows once again how important and right it was to position ourselves broadly as a group of companies.
“Despite this market environment, we expect the marketing initiatives outlined above to take effect later in the year, enabling us to report revenues and earnings figures for the second half of the year at the strong level of the previous year.”
Last week, Berentzen-Gruppe announced a deal to source Bourbon from Whiskey House of Kentucky.
Berentzen-Gruppe, which supplies private-label Bourbon, said the tie-up has started, with the first whiskey barrels filled.
A spokesperson for Berentzen-Gruppe told Just Drinks: “We are one of the largest Bourbon suppliers in Europe for private-label business. “Particularly in view of the long storage times, we need firm, long-term contracts that ensure we will have sufficient quantities available in the coming years.”
