Vivartia profitable after 4 years
Food conglomerate Vivartia returned to profitability after four years, financial results showed Thursday.
Concurrently with this turnaround, the company reduced its indebtedness.
Turnover from recurring activities rose to €902.6 million, a 9% increase from the €827.7 million posted in 2022. A decisive role was played by what was considered until recently Vivartia’s weak point, the catering industry, which was boosted thanks to the increase in the number of tourists.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose 72.1%, again thanks to booming tourism, but also the increase in exports, especially in the frozen goods sector.
Higher sales, lower energy costs in 2023 and the containment of operating costs as part of the company’s restructuring plan led to a pretax profit of €10.6 million, compared to a €18.5 million loss in 2002. After-tax profit was €3 million compared to a €21.7 million loss in 2022.
Indebtedness stood at €645.4 million at the end of 2023, down from €679.2 million a year previously. This was the result of paying off a €55 million debt, which was funded through the sale of a Delta subsidiary in Bulgaria, United Milk Company, to Tyrbul, a subsidiary of Hellenic Creameries, part of the Olympus group. The sale brought in €69.05 million for Vivartia for a net profit of €31.48 million.
Vivartia’s sales of milk and yogurt rose 4.4% to €274.6 million, while frozen foods and dough sales brought in €223.3 million, or 8.7% more than in 2022. And this despite the fact that sales were hit in the first five months of the year due to lower demand. In this sector, exports rose 18.2% and account for 32.9% of total sales.
Sales through the catering sector rose 12.9% to €240.7 million.
Cheese sales, now mainly concentrated into subsidiary Dodoni, rose 12.1% to €170.2 million.
In December 2023, Vivartia acquired the 22% stake in Dodoni that it did not already control from Russia’s SI foods. CVC Capital Partners, Vivartia’s owner, had acquired a 78% stake in Dodoni in 2021, when it had acquired the whole food conglomerate, Greece’s largest.
