Podravka’s achievement is said to be the result of organic growth without any particular extraordinary influence.
As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 26th of April, 2018, at today’s meeting, the Supervisory Board of Podravka d.d. confirmed the unaudited results of Podravka Group’s business from 2018’s first three months, and expressed great satisfaction, given that the results show the best operating results and the highest operating profit of Podravka’s longstanding history. What is particularly worth mentioning is the fact that these historic results are a result of pure organic growth without any extraordinary measures, which further confirms the excellent performance of Podravka Group’s business in the first quarter.
Podravka Group’s net profit for the first quarter of this year amounted to a massive 69.8 million kuna, which represents a very significant increase compared to the comparative period last year when just 18 million kuna was realised. Growth in sales of a profitable assortment with simultaneous control of operating costs resulted in very welcome double-digit profitability growth at all levels of business.
Podravka Group’s sales revenue amounted to 988.9 million kuna, representing a growth of 75.6 million kuna, or an impressive 8.3 percent compared to the same period recorded during the previous year. Sales growth was largely influenced by sales growth in the food segment due to stronger sales and marketing activities, as well as the expansion of the distribution of individual categories.
The food segment achieved a more than impressive 789.8 million kuna in sales revenue, an increase of 9.2 percent when compared to the comparative period from last year. Within the aforementioned segment, all business programs achieved managed to achieve sales growth, and their own brands grew by an encouraging 10.3 percent. Thus, baby food, confectionery and snacks increased by 8.2 percent, Podravka’s food increased by 16.9 percent, Žito’s business program by 9.4 percent, meat products, meals and salads by 13.4 percent, and fish by 9.7 percent.
The second segment of the Podravka Group, pharmaceuticals, generated excellent sales of 199 million kuna, equalling growth of five percent compared to the same period recorded last year, without any real impact from exchange rate differences, estimated at 7.5 percent. The pharmaceutical segment’s own brands rose by 6.3 percent, mainly due to the spread of distribution on the markets of Central Europe and the increase in Russia’s market demand. It is worth mentioning that the most significant category, prescription medicines, reported a significant increase in sales revenue, up by as much as 9.8 percent.
Regarding the realisation of Podravka Group’s sales revenues by region, the largest relative increase was recorded in the Central Europe region, standing at 15.9 percent, and Eastern Europe, standing at 14.9 percent. The Adria Region, considered to be the most significant region within the Podravka Group, recorded strong sales growth of 6.3 percent, or increased sales revenue by a huge 40 million kuna over the same period of the previous year.
The focus of Podravka’s management in 2018 is on further organic growth, continued debt reduction, and improving overall internal efficiency.
