MILAN (Reuters) – Campari beat first-half expectations with a 37% rise in sales on Tuesday as shops and restaurants reopened amid easing lockdowns, pushing shares in the Italian beverage maker to a record high.
Its January-June net sales of 1 billion euros ($1.18 billion) were also up 22% from the pre-pandemic first half of 2019.
Drinks consumption at home also helped boost sales, the company said.
The maker of the red Campari aperitif and orange Aperol liqueur said adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) rose 89% on an organic basis to 223 million euros.
“Whilst uncertainty linked to the spread of COVID variants and the possible re-introduction of new restrictive measures persists, we remain confident about the continued strong brand momentum, fuelled by sustained marketing investments, accelerating in aperitifs peak season,” CEO Bob Kunze-Concewitz said in a statement.
Campari shares were up 5.18% by 1052 GMT, after hitting a record high of 12.07 euros, versus a 0.6% fall in Milan’s blue-chip index.
($1 = 0.8486 euros)
(Reporting by Elisa Anzolin; editing by Agnieszka Flak and Jason Neely)
