DGAP-News

Berentzen-Gruppe Aktiengesellschaft: 2020 financial year closed with a profit - outlook 2021 presented - Seite 2

"Although the coronavirus pandemic caused a significant decline in revenues and earnings, we ultimately succeeded in generating a solid profit in every quarter of the year", Schwegmann said. The Berentzen Group's business was negatively impacted particularly by the nearly complete closure of hotels and restaurants in the second and fourth quarters, but also by the widespread curtailment of private and public holidays throughout the year. Above all, sales of brand-name spirits suffered from the consequences of the pandemic in the all-important end-of-year holiday season. "The fact that we as a group turned a clearly positive profit despite these challenges can be credited to our strategy of broad diversification in the three segments of Spirits, Non-Alcoholic Beverages, and Fresh Juice Systems and our use of different distribution channels. Thanks to this diversification, declines in especially hard-hit product categories and sales channels were partially offset by growth in sales of relatively pandemic-resistant products", Schwegmann said.

Outlook for the 2021 financial year

In a capital market notice, the Berentzen Group today presented a forecast for the 2021 financial year. The corporate group expects consolidated revenues in a range of EUR 152.0 million to EUR 158.0 million, consolidated EBIT in a range of EUR 4.0 million to EUR 6.0 million, and consolidated EBITDA in a range of EUR 13.0 million to EUR 15.0 million. The forecast ranges for EBIT and EBITDA are therefore exactly identical to the previous year's forecast. "As before, our business will be noticeably impacted by the ongoing restrictions on private and social life due to the coronavirus pandemic. Thus, our business in the 2021 financial year will be subject to similar conditions on the whole as in 2020 and therefore a comparable level of revenues and earnings can be expected. With increasing vaccinations, we anticipate a gradual return of public life in the further course of the year and we are therefore convinced that we will generate profitable growth again in the second year of the pandemic", Schwegmann said.