原創 徐菲遠 華夏酒報 今天
French drinks group Pernod Ricard has said that the Covid-19 outbreak will have “widespread repercussions” on business, and expects operating profit to fall by 20% in FY20.
In a statement published yesterday, Pernod Ricard updated its original guidance on the Covid-19 pandemic which it had posted on 13 February.
The company had initially expected that the virus could cause a 2% fall in its FY2020 sales.
However, it said that there had now been “significant evolution” with the disease now causing disruption in the Asia Pacific, Europe and the Americas.
To fight the outbreak, the drinks group has converted a number of its production sites to the production of hand sanitiser and has also donated pure alcohol to sanitiser producers to help ease shortages.
The group now expects that its organic profit from recurring operations will fall by 20% this year.
In China, it has conducted very limited business in February and March, and is predicting a slow recovery from April.
The travel retail sector has been particularly hard hit, with a predicted 80% decline in business from February to the end of June 2020.
In other markets, Pernod Ricard is expecting a 10% reduction in performance in the off-trade from mid-March to the end of June.
The on-trade, however, has effectively shut down, with no sales from mid-March to the end of June as outlets have closed.
The group said that the health and safety of its employees and business partners remains its primary concern.
The drinks group repaid a bond of €850m plus interest on 23 March. It’s next significant bond redemption of US$1 billion is due in April 2020.
Pernod Ricard says it has €3.4 billion of credit lines secured with banks, of which it has drawn €0.3 billion.
Alexandre Ricard, chairman and chief executive officer, said that while the situation had “very significantly deteriorated” since the company’s last statement, he was confident in Pernod Ricard’s “ability to bounce back and its growth potential”.
He added: “Our business model and strategy are resilient. Our three-year plan Transform & Accelerate has been very successful, as demonstrated by the FY19 and H1 FY20 results, and will continue to positively impact the business as we move through the Covid-19 crisis.
“We are encouraged to see that, thanks to the implementation of strong measures, China appears to be starting to make a gradual recovery. While we cannot predict the duration and extent of the impact, we remain confident in our strategy. Our priority is to ensure the health and safety of our employees and business partners.
“I would like to praise the exemplary behaviour of our teams during this very difficult time. With the revised assumptions linked to Covid-19, we are providing guidance of an organic decline in Profit from Recurring Operations for full-year FY20 of c. -20%. We are staying the strategic course while implementing a comprehensive action plan to mitigate costs.”
保樂力加大幅削減盈利預期
法國酒飲巨頭保樂力加(Pernod Ricard)宣布，由于新冠疫情將對業務產生“廣泛影響”，預計2020財年營業利潤將下降20%。
在3月25日發表的一份聲明中，保樂力加更新了其于2月13日發布的對于新冠疫情發展的原始預期。其最初預計病毒可能導致其2020財年銷售額下降2%。
但是，該集團稱目前已經發生“顯著的演變”，這種疾病已經導致亞太地區、歐洲和美洲市場的破壞。
為了應對疫情，該集團已將其許多生產場所改成消毒劑生產地，并且還向消毒劑生產商捐助純酒精以緩解短缺。
該集團預計，本財年來自經常性業務的有機利潤將下降20%。
在中國，其在2-3月的業務量非常有限，預計從4月開始緩慢復蘇。
旅游零售業受到的打擊尤其嚴重，從2月到6月底，業務預計將下降80%。
在其他市場，預計從3月中旬到6月底，非即飲渠道的收益將下降10%。即飲渠道實際上已經關閉，因為銷售網點關門停業，3月中旬至6月底沒有銷量。
保樂力加表示，其員工和業務合作伙伴的健康與安全仍然是其首要關注的問題。
董事長兼首席執行官Alexandre Ricard表示，自公司上次發表聲明以來，情況“已大大惡化”，但他對保樂力加的“反彈能力和增長潛力”充滿信心。
“我們的業務模式和戰略極具彈性。正如2019財年和2020上半財年的業績所表明的那樣，我們的三年 ‘轉型與加速’計劃非常成功，經過新冠疫情危機之后，將繼續對業務產生積極影響。” 他補充說。
“令我們感到鼓舞的是，由于采取了強有力的措施，中國市場似乎已經開始逐步復蘇。盡管我們無法預測疫情影響的持續時間和程度，但我們對我們的戰略仍然充滿信心。我們的首要任務是確保員工和業務合作伙伴的健康與安全。”
“在這個非常困難的時期，我想贊揚我們團隊的模范行為。根據疫情發展的推斷，我們將2020財年全年經常性運營利潤預期下調了20%。我們將在實施全面行動計劃以降低成本的同時，繼續保持原有的戰略路線。”
原載于The Drinks Business
編譯：華夏酒報記者徐菲遠
