FINLAND – Anora Group, a Nordic distilled beverage and wine company, has revised its earnings forecast for 2024, projecting lower profitability due to weaker-than-expected sales.
The company, which produces brands such as Falling Feather wines and Koskenkorva vodka, announced that its comparable EBITDA for the year is expected to range between €65M (US$70.9M) and €75M (US$49-82M), down from a previous forecast of €75M )(US$81.8M) -85M (US$92.7M).
Anora’s comparable EBITDA for the 2023 financial year reached €68M (US$74.2M), following a €76.1M (US$83M) figure in 2022.
The group attributed the downward revision to reduced sales volumes in its wine and spirits segments, particularly in the monopoly sales channels during September.
In the first half of 2024, Anora recorded a 15.2 percent increase in comparable EBITDA, totaling €24.1M (US$26.3M), despite a 5.3 percent decline in sales, which amounted to €324M (US$353.4M).
All three of the company’s core divisions – wine, spirits, and industrial – experienced sales drops, with the industrial division dealing in products like packaging, starch, and ethanols.
Despite the current sales pressures, Anora has continued to innovate, launching a new range of lower alcohol by volume (abv) wines in Finnish grocery stores.
The move capitalizes on recent changes to Finland’s alcohol sales regulations, which allow supermarkets to sell drinks with up to 8% abv, an increase from the previous cap of 5.5%.
Anora’s new wine line includes brands such as Chill Out and Treasury Wine Estates’ Lindeman’s.
Finland, like other Nordic countries, maintains an alcohol monopoly system, where grocery stores can only sell drinks with an abv of up to 4.7 percent. Stronger alcoholic beverages must be purchased through the state-owned retailer, Alko.
In addition to its financial updates, Anora has made strides in sustainability. The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has validated the company’s emission reduction targets, which align with global efforts to limit climate change to 1.5°C.
Anora has committed to reducing its scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 42 percent by 2030, as part of its Sustainability Roadmap.
The company has also pledged a 30.3 percent reduction in scope 1 and 3 emissions by the same year.
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