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Sugar Tax Sours Kofola's Revenue Forecast
28 Nov
Summary
- Kofola ČeskoSlovensko now forecasts a 4% annual sales decline.
- Slovakia's sugar tax significantly impacted third-quarter revenues.
- EBITDA forecast for 2025 is reduced to Kč1.75bn.
Kofola ČeskoSlovensko has significantly revised its annual sales forecast, now anticipating a 4% revenue decline instead of the previously projected 1.5% growth. This downward revision comes after the company reported a 7.5% decrease in third-quarter revenues, a performance heavily influenced by the introduction of Slovakia's sugar tax on sweetened beverages and weaker consumer sentiment in Czechia.
The company has also adjusted its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) forecast for 2025, reducing it to Kč1.75bn from an earlier projection of Kč1.9bn. While cost savings managed to offset some negative revenue trends in the CzechoSlovakia region, the continuation of a negative revenue trend in autumn necessitated this outlook revision.
Across its segments, Kofola experienced revenue dips. Its largest segment, CzechoSlovakia, saw revenues fall by 10%, and the beer and ciders segment also declined, driven by lower demand in Central and Eastern European countries. Despite these challenges, the profit for the third quarter still saw a marginal increase.
