Wild Turkey owner Campari Group saw organic net sales increase by 14.2% for the first six months of 2023, led by apéritifs, Tequila and premium Bourbon.
Net sales for the six-month period reached €1.46 billion (US$1.625bn). Net profit rose 8.9% to €216.9 million (US$241.4m).
Second-quarter (Q2) sales increased by 10.1%, following a 19.5% rise in the previous quarter.
Campari Group said its second quarter was affected by the expected reversal of temporary phasing effects from the first quarter and ‘very poor weather’ across Southern and Central Europe. Campari noted that the firm was also hit by temporary delistings from European retailers after negotiating price increases, but these were ‘successfully’ passed through.
The Italian group recorded double-digit growth across all of its regions.
Sales in the Americas rose by 10.6%, with double-digit growth (up 11.7%) in the US.
The Southern Europe, Middle East and Africa region grew by 16.6%, with the company’s core Italian market up by 13.4%. France delivered a 21% increase, and global travel retail (GTR) soared by 49.8%.
Sales in North, Central and Eastern Europe climbed by 14.5%. Germany rose by 16.4%, while the UK soared by a fifth (20.9%).
Asia Pacific sales rose more than a quarter (26.2%), with Australia up 7.5%. Other regional markets skyrocketed by 57.7%, led by South Korea, Japan, China and India.
Double-digit gains for global brands
Regarding brands, Campari’s ‘global priorities’ grew organically by 15%. Aperol soared by 32.4% for the first half (up 26.2% in Q2), bolstered by a 122.5% increase in the US, further triple-digit growth in GTR, and double-digit gains in Italy, Germany, France, the UK, Spain, Canada, Australia, and other European markets.
The Wild Turkey whiskey portfolio rose by 12.5%, driven by the US, Australia, Japan and South Korea, and the ‘outperformance’ of Russell’s Reserve (up 76%).
CEO Bob Kunze-Concewitz said: “Looking at the remainder of 2023, we remain confident of the positive business momentum across key brand-market combinations, reflecting business seasonality and expected normalization in volume growth, thanks to strong brand equity and continued strength in the on-premise.”
Campari Group posted organic growth of 16.4% for its 2022 financial year.
