Berentzen-Gruppe Aktiengesellschaft publishes preliminary financial figures for the first half of the year: Significant increase in revenues and key earnings figures - More optimistic forecast for the year

"We have always emphasised it: when people are allowed to come together again, we are there with our products. That is why we had expected strong revenue growth after the decline in the Corona measures," said Oliver Schwegmann, Executive Board member of Berentzen-Gruppe Aktiengesellschaft. All strategically important topics for the Berentzen Group had contributed to this positive development, each with significant double-digit growth rates. The strategic growth areas of the corporate group are the liqueurs of the Berentzen and Puschkin brands in the Branded Spirits segment, premium product concepts in the Private Label Spirits segment, the modern lemonade brand Mio Mio in the Non-alcoholic Beverages segment and the key core sales markets in the Fresh Juice Systems segment. "These growth areas can all now fully develop their positive momentum again," says Schwegmann.

"Overall, our Group sales revenues in the first half of this financial year have already reached the level of a first half year before the coronavirus pandemic. We have returned to our growth path," explains Schwegmann. The key earnings figures of Group EBIT and EBITDA also showed a significant increase compared to the previous year. "Our result could have been even better if it hadn't been for the massive increases in material and energy costs due to the war in Ukraine. This challenge is hitting almost every company at the moment. However, all of our key figures today impressively underscore the growth potential that exists in the Berentzen Group," Schwegmann continues.

Further outlook for the 2022 financial year
"We are starting the second half of the year with this tailwind, even though the rest of the year naturally remains fraught with many uncertainties due to the effects of the cruel war," says Schwegmann. The Berentzen Group continues to anticipate rising revenues for the year as a whole, which is why it is raising its revenue forecast for the 2022 financial year. The Group now expects consolidated revenues in a range of EUR 158.0 to 165.0 million (previously EUR 154.0 to 162.0 million, previous year EUR 146.1 million). However, the continuing challenges on the procurement markets continue to have an adverse effect on the fundamentally positive development of the business results. Against this background, the upper end of the range of previous earnings forecasts remains unchanged. "However, we are convinced that we will in any case achieve a higher Group EBIT and EBITDA than we originally expected in the minimum," says Schwegmann. Therefore, the lower value of the forecast ranges is being raised. The group of companies now expects a consolidated EBIT of between 6.0 and 8.0 million euros (previously 5.0 to 8.0 million euros, previous year 6.7 million euros) and a consolidated EBITDA of between 15.0 and 17.0 million euros (previously 14.0 to 17.0 million euros, previous year 15.4 million euros) for the 2022 financial year.

The Berentzen Group will announce further information on the first half of the 2022 financial year as well as details on the individual business segments with the scheduled publication of the Consolidated Half-Yearly Financial Report 2022 on 11 August 2022.