2022

• Consolidated revenues come to EUR 146.1 million
• Consolidated earnings (consolidated EBIT) climb considerably to EUR 6.7 million
• 2022 financial year: Significant increase in consolidated revenues, with consolidated earnings (EBIT) expected to stand between EUR 5.0 and EUR 8.0 million 

Haselünne, February 3, 2022 – Berentzen-Gruppe Aktiengesellschaft, which is listed on the regulated market (General Standard) of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (ISIN: DE0005201602), today published its preliminary, not yet audited operating results for the 2021 financial year as well as its outlook for the 2022 financial year.

The corporate group is expected to have generated consolidated revenues of EUR 146.1 million in the 2021 financial year (2020: EUR 154.6 million), while consolidated earnings before interest and taxes (consolidated EBIT) are expected to have come to EUR 6.7 million – up by 28.8% compared with the 2020 financial year (EUR 5.2 million). Consolidated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (consolidated EBITDA) are expected to have risen to EUR 15.4 million (2020: EUR 14.1 million).

“We are very pleased with the consolidated earnings achieved given the ongoing challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic over the past year. At EUR 6.7 million, our consolidated EBIT even hit the upper end of the forecast range for the 2021 financial year, which was increased last October”, says Oliver Schwegmann, member of the Executive Board of Berentzen-Gruppe Aktiengesellschaft, adding that consolidated revenues and the consolidated EBITDA were also within the expected ranges.

“Following a difficult start to the 2021 financial year with a continuous lockdown lasting well into April, we managed to expand our strategic business activities and thus considerably increase our profitability over the course of the year. Overall, this enabled us to significantly improve our earnings compared with the previous year”, says Oliver Schwegmann. Adjusted to take into account the termination – already communicated multiple times – of a contract bottling agreement, consolidated revenues also increased slightly by 1%.

Outlook for the 2022 financial year

For the 2022 financial year, Berentzen-Gruppe Aktiengesellschaft expects to achieve consolidated revenues in the range of EUR 154.0 million to EUR 162.0 million, a consolidated EBIT between EUR 5.0 million and EUR 8.0 million and a consolidated EBITDA between EUR 14.0 million and EUR 17.0 million.

“We believe that social life and thus also our business volume will take off again over the further course of the year, despite the current spread of the Omicron variant. We are therefore expecting significantly higher consolidated revenues than in the 2021 financial year”, explains Oliver Schwegmann, pointing out, however, that the Berentzen Group also cannot escape the extremely difficult conditions in the sourcing markets. These conditions currently include massive hikes in energy and commodity prices as well as disruptions to supply chains, he says, which is resulting in exceptionally high costs overall. On top of this, he adds, with high purchase prices fluctuating greatly and unable to be fixed for the majority of the financial year – as is usually the case – the corporate group needs to work with a somewhat larger range for forecast earnings. “On the whole, however, we are keeping to our target of ensuring sustainable growth. It is therefore important, after two years of the pandemic and the strict cost management approach taken as a result, to invest more heavily into our long-term growth drivers of personnel, sales and marketing”, says Oliver Schwegmann. As a result, he says, the earnings ratios consolidated EBIT and consolidated EBITDA are forecast to reach roughly the same level as in the 2021 financial year, despite the increase in revenues expected.

The preliminary operating results of Berentzen‐Gruppe Aktiengesellschaft are subject to verification by the independent auditor and approval by the Supervisory Board. The final operating results and further information about the 2021 financial year and the 2022 forecast will be published according to plan on March 24, 2022 with the 2021 Annual Report.