Marie Brizard Wine & Spirits: Q4 and full-year 2022 revenues

Charenton-le-Pont, 16 February 2023

Q4 and full-year 2022 revenues

MBWS posts full-year 2022 revenues of €181.3m, up 7.8%¹ versus 2021
Q4 revenues up 2.6% to €46.4m
Growth driven by international sales

• In France, despite a disappointing 4^th quarter down by -4.0%, yearly net sales grew by 3.4% in 2022 compared to 2021, thanks in particular to a strong performance by our strategic brands and to the contextual effect of generalised inflation:
  • in the 4^th quarter, net sales fell by -4.0%, in line with the outlook comments shared at end of September 2022, due to availability constraints and Inflation of inputs cost which affected our ability to meet the demand of all our customers and forced us to scale back promotional activity;
  • nevertheless, the off-trade business held up well throughout the full year, driven in particular by sales of William Peel, which grew in the second half despite the current economic climate of shortages and logistical difficulties leading to supply issues among competitors, and a spirits market still in decline compared to the same period in 2021;
  • a strong improvement in on-trade sales throughout 2022 compared to 2021, which was still impacted by health restrictions.

• International revenues grew significantly in 2022 (up 11.7% versus 2021), with disparities between regions:
  • growth in Europe, particularly in the Bulgarian and Lithuanian domestic markets, despite the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and also in Spain;
  • in the United States, Sobieski revenues fell within a persistently competitive vodka market with strong promotional pressure;
  • sustained performance by all strategic brands, particularly Marie Brizard and Cognac Gautier.

• Commercial outlook: the prevailing inflationary surge in raw material prices and energy costs, which intensified in the second half of 2022, has persisted into the beginning of 2023, making the implementation of price increases for all our customers all the more necessary. The potential impact on sales volumes and consumer trends leads the Group to be cautious about commercial activity in the first half of 2023.
  
  

Fahd Khadraoui, Chief Executive Officer of MBWS, said: "In 2022, we successfully continued our growth, particularly on international markets, despite an unprecedented economic climate characterised by high inflation and shortages of certain raw materials. I would like to thank the teams for their commitment throughout the year. Our revenues reflect healthy growth driven by three factors: 1) the lifting of all COVID restrictions, 2) our policy of increasing prices, primarily in international markets, and above all 3) a quality/price ratio that positions our brands as a safe haven for consumers during this period of widespread surging inflation. Unfortunately, the current challenging macroeconomic environment appears set to continue into the beginning of this year. We must therefore opt for a proactive pricing policy and remain cautious regarding the development of the Group’s business over the coming months.” 
Marie Brizard Wine & Spirits (Euronext: MBWS) today announces its unaudited revenues for the fourth quarter of 2022, covering the period from 1 October to 31 December 2022, and for the full year 2022.

Full-year 2022 revenues

Q4 2022 revenues

Breakdown by cluster

France cluster

The France cluster posted full-year 2022 revenues of €81.3m, up 3.4% versus the previous year. This growth reflects the continued improvement in on-trade sales in the fourth quarter coupled as well as the continued level of sales in the off-trade market. The fourth quarter saw a -4.0% decrease in revenues compared to Q4 2021 due to lower sales for some of our products and the forced decrease in promotional intensity at the end of the year, particularly in the off-trade business, reflecting the Group’s difficulty in supplying all of its customers against the backdrop of rising prices and the reduced availability of raw materials.

Revenue growth continued for the Group’s main brands over the year, in particular Marie Brizard, Sobieski and San José. Our brands are positioned in line with customer needs in the current inflationary environment. In a declining market for under-12-year blended whisky (down - 6.6%² in 2022), William Peel maintained its sales volumes compared to 2021 and gained market share thanks to its competitive positioning still bolstered by the new listing obtained in the second half of 2021.

However, in view of the ongoing severe supply chain disruption and sharp price rises for raw materials, particularly in the glass industry, the Group continues to adopt allocation measures per brand based on available volumes.

International cluster

The International cluster posted full-year 2022 revenues of €100.1m, up 11.7% versus 2021 at constant exchange rates, with a fourth quarter up 8.8%.

In Spain, full-year 2022 revenues were up + 5.6% versus 2021, mainly driven by steady subcontracting business and a sustained performance by strategic brands, primarily Marie Brizard and William Peel.

Western European export markets benefited from favourable conditions in 2022 with continued on-trade growth versus 2021, still driven by the Marie Brizard brand.

The Baltic States posted full-year 2022 revenues up 14.1%, including an upturn in the fourth quarter mainly due to brand performance driven by a proactive pricing policy and the continued buoyancy of the bulk market and its by-products.

Sales in Bulgaria continued to ramp up in the fourth quarter (up 22.8% in Q4, up 19.8% for the year) across the entire brand portfolio (spirits and wine) in both domestic and export markets thanks to a rigorous sales policy.

Scandinavia posted a 25.3% increase in full-year revenues versus 2021, bolstered by the lifting of all restrictions on the on-trade channel and still driven by sales of Marie Brizard, Sobieski and third-party brands.

In the Eastern European export markets, Poland was driven by Gautier and Marie Brizard sales and posted significant overall growth in 2022 despite a decline in the fourth quarter.

In the United States, full-year 2022 revenues were down - 9.3% compared to 2021, still impacted by a highly competitive vodka market (Sobieski) and inventory adjustment by our local distributor during the year. The Marie Brizard and Gautier brands confirmed their sales growth in this market in the fourth quarter.

In Brazil, revenues were down in Q4 2022 with a - 16.7% drop in performance for the year, mainly due to delays in availability for certain strategic products.

In the Americas export region, annual sales growth in Canada was +15.7%. This growth was driven mainly by the Gautier and Marie Brizard brands, while Sobieski vodka continued to evolve in a particularly turbulent category.

Lastly, in Asia Pacific, the positive trend in the first nine months of 2022 was confirmed in the fourth quarter by sustained performances, particularly in Taiwan.

Outlook

Like most players in the wine and spirits sector, the Group continues to face increasing inflation in raw material costs and persistently high energy prices, which the Group was not able to fully pass on downstream in 2022. Similarly, the disruptive effects still present in the supply chains of certain suppliers (particularly the glass industry) are persisting at the beginning of 2023.

As mentioned previously, if they continue, these adverse factors could have an impact on the Group’s ability to supply all of its customers (in France and abroad) and on the elasticity of consumer demand, upset by sharp price rises and an uncertain economic environment that varies depending on the different geographical regions in which the Group operates.

These negative factors continue to impact the beginning of 2023 and make it necessary for the Group to continue proactively adapting its pricing policies towards its customers in order to cover the additional costs incurred, and therefore once again encourage it to adopt a cautious approach to sales activity in the coming months.

Financial calendar

• 2022 full-year earnings: 13 April 2023 after market close
  
  

A propos de Marie Brizard Wine & Spirits

Marie Brizard Wine & Spirits est un Groupe de vins et spiritueux implanté en Europe et aux Etats-Unis. Marie Brizard Wine & Spirits se distingue par son savoir-faire, combinaison de marques à la longue tradition et d’un esprit résolument tourné vers l’innovation. Depuis la naissance de la Maison Marie Brizard en 1755, le Groupe Marie Brizard Wine & Spirits a su développer ses marques dans la modernité tout en respectant leurs origines. L’engagement de Marie Brizard Wine & Spirits est d’offrir à ses clients des marques de confiance, audacieuses et pleines de saveurs et d’expériences. Le Groupe dispose aujourd’hui d’un riche portefeuille de marques leaders sur leurs segments de marché, et notamment William Peel, Sobieski, Marie Brizard et Cognac Gautier.
Marie Brizard Wine & Spirits est coté sur le compartiment B d’Euronext Paris (FR0000060873 - MBWS) et fait partie de l’indice EnterNext© PEA-PME 150.

1 All revenue figures reported herein are at constant exchange rates and consolidation scope, unless otherwise stated.

2 Source: IRI P13 2022 – CAM All supermarket channels.

Attachment

• PR MBWS Net Sales Q4 & FY2022