FDBusiness.com

Refresco Gerber, the European soft drinks and fruit juices group created following the rent merger of Refresco and Gerber Emig, has reported a 3.2% increase in revenue to €1.59 billion with volume up 2.2% for 2013. On a like-for-like basis revenue and volume declined 1.6% and 0.8%, respectively mainly due to weak markets and a change in product mix towards more value for money products.

Full year adjusted EBITDA was €139.7 million, an improvement of €24.2 million or 20.9% on 2012. Operating costs fell by €4.0 million on a like-for-like basis as a result of rightsizing initiatives. Including merger costs and Gerber Emig, net loss was €28.9 million compared to a net loss of €18.2 million in 2012.

Hans Roelofs, chief executive of Refresco Gerber, comments: “We are pleased to report a solid performance improvement in our underlying business despite the weak market conditions in Europe. The improvement was driven both by the successful implementation of our strategy to focus on better contributing volumes and cost control, as well as some relief in raw and packaging material prices. The merger of Refresco and Gerber Emig in the last quarter of the year was a major milestone in our strategy of expansion as a pan-European bottler of soft drinks and fruit juices serving both retail and branded customers. I am convinced that we have created a sound platform from which we can serve our customers even better than in the past and pursue further growth in 2014 and beyond.”

Refresco Gerber operates production units in the Benelux, Finland, France, Germany, Iberia, Italy, Poland and the UK.