Spadel Group: 2020 annual report
Despite a complicated context, the Spadel Group achieved a solid performance both financially and in terms of sustainability, but remains prudent about the outlook for 2021.
The mineral water Group Spadel ended the 2020 financial year with a stable operating profit (EBIT) compared to 2019 (+0,2%), despite a fall in turnover from 10,7% (-5,5% on a like-for-like basis). This decrease results primarily from a reduction in volumes in the out-of-home consumption sector following the lockdown measures which was not fully compensated for by the excellent performance of our brands in the retail and distribution sector, and an unfavourable “product mix”. Changes in behaviour during this lockdown period have effectively promoted the consumption of large formats to the detriment of certain products or individual formats with higher added value.
However, the high level of responsiveness and flexibility displayed by our employees, the implementation of an ambitious savings plan at the start of 2020, the improvement of plant performance and the dynamism of the brands and commercial policy, supported by some non- recurring accounts, have limited the impact of the fall in sales on Group’s operating profit (EBIT).
Spadel has reached in 2020 some important milestones in terms of sustainability, by becoming the first mineral group in Europe whose products and production sites are certified carbon neutral and by obtaining for the site of Spa Monopole the Platinum certificate from the AWS (Alliance for Water Stewardship), the most internationally recognized label for the sustainable management of water resources, thus becoming the first mineral company in Europe and the second in the world to obtain this certification.
In the current context of Covid-19 pandemic, it is difficult to assess the impacts that this crisis will have in the coming months on the economy in general, and on the bottled water sector in particular. We must above all highlight the major efforts made by our employees and the Group’s plants to ensure constant supply of our products to our clients and the population as a whole.