Beer Group President And Anaolu Efes Ceo Onur Altürk Commented
“It is very encouraging to make a good start to the year in a persistently challenging landscape with uncertainties and volatilities both in the domestic market and abroad. However, these factors have largely been mitigated by the strength of our brand portfolio, our robust commercial capabilities, and efficient route-to-market activities. As a result, we have registered slight volume growth across the board. Continued strategic pricing adjustments, along with effective revenue management efforts, and enhanced product offerings allowed our revenue growth to outpace volume increases. Consequently, net sales revenue reached TL 43.6 billion, with an EBITDA (BNRI) margin of 12.7%..”
The volume performance in the beer business have exceeded our initial forecasts for the first quarter thanks to the exceptional growth rates recorded in our largest markets, Russia and Türkiye. While we remain cautious in the face of competitive pressures, pricing challenges, and sticky inflation, we are pleased by the very strong 12.4% volume growth registered in the beer group.
In Russia, the beer industry performed well in the quarter, growing by high-single digit, cycling a low base from last year. Despite a competitive environment, we continued to execute our persistent strategy to create value, supported by our diverse portfolio of products and brands. The near beer categories continue to demonstrate strong performance, contributing to both our volume and profitability.
Türkiye beer operations also had a very strong performance in the quarter despite the Ramadan impact. A wide range of product offerings covering all price segments, customer-oriented commercial activities along with right pricing strategies paved the way for a very good start, which gives us confidence for the rest of the year.
As announced previously, we signed an agreement with William Grant and Sons regarding the sales, marketing and distribution of William Grant & Sons’ full range of products including whisky, liqueur and gin in Türkiye. This strategic expansion is a result of Anadolu Efes’ commitment to diversify its product portfolio and tap into new product lines in line with its vision of becoming Türkiye’s premier alcoholic beverage company. We are excited about the possibilities that lie ahead and look forward to delivering value to our investors through this strategic move.
In soft drinks, Türkiye operations had a good start to the year driven by the accelerated commercial activities. Yet, international operations faced some headwinds with volume registering a decline primarily due to Pakistan and Kazakhstan both cycling robust performances from last year.
The solid results from the first quarter inspire us for the rest of the year. We are confident in our ability to achieve our 2024 targets as we continue to remain focused on sustaining growth and profitability through strategic initiatives aimed at innovation, market penetration, and enhancing operational efficiencies.