The company owns more than 45 brands, exporting to more than 50 countries worldwide with the majority of its business taking place in central and eastern Europe.
According to its published results, the company’s financial hightlights include:
- Net debt of €31.6 million at 30 September 2018 (December 2017: €53.1 million), resulting in leverage of 0.53x2 (31 December 2017: 0.94x)
- Proposed enhanced final dividend of 6.01 €cents per share3 (2017: 5.72 €cents per share), giving a total dividend in respect of the nine-month period 2018 of 8.51 €cents per share (2017: 8.10 €cents per share), an increase of 5.1%
The company also listed its operational highlights as:
- Solid share and value growth in Poland led by premium brands
- Investment in premium products providing resilience in Czech Republic
- Extended third party distribution agreements, including with Beam Suntory in Czech Republic and Slovakia
- Commenced distribution of The Dubliner and The Dublin Liberties Irish whiskey brands across all markets, building on the 25% investment in Quintessential Brands Ireland Whiskey Ltd
- Appointment of new Independent Non-Executive Director, Kate Allum, on 1 November 2018
Mirek Stachowicz, chief xxecutive officer, said: “We are pleased with the increasing strength and resilience of our core Polish business, and also with the way in which we have combatted the headwinds experienced earlier in the year in the Czech Republic.
“Given the positive momentum in our underlying business and our portfolio of strong brands that are responding well to our ongoing programme of investment, we remain confident of being able to achieve further growth in the future.”
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