TURNHOUT, Belgium – Miko, the Euronext Brussels-listed coffee service specialist, announced today that after a loss-making 2022, it is returning to profit in the first half of this year. Profit for the first half of the year was 0.8 mio euro. This compares with a reported loss for all of fiscal year 2022 of -0.6 mio euro (before non-recurring income related to the sale of an industrial land, the loss for all of fiscal year 2022 was -2.1 mio euro).
Sales, EBIT and EBITDA evolved to 143.4 mio euro, 2.8 mio euro and 13.9 mio euro, respectively. This represents an 11.6 % increase in sales compared to adjusted 2022 sales (*). EBIT decreased 16.8 %, while EBITDA clocked in at the same level as the first half of 2022 (both compared to 2022 adjusted EBITDA and EBIT (*)).
This evolution must be assessed from the perspective that the negative effects of the war in Ukraine last year only began to seep through starting in May.
The positive sales evolution is linked to the traditional business, which again recorded a nice growth. It focuses on the out-of-home market, where coffee is consumed outside the domestic sphere, such as in offices, companies, restaurants and institutions.
In this market segment, a whole service is offered such as sales, customer care, logistics service, engineering. It also includes full operating, where large vending machines are refilled and maintained at the customer’s premises.
Across almost the entire line of the international organization, Miko managed to increase sales. In the UK it was slightly more difficult, partly a consequence of the BREXIT.
In Scandinavia, the result experienced a small decrease due to the weakening of the Norwegian and Swedish Krone. Furthermore, wage indexation in Belgium, where all coffee is roasted and packaged, is also having an impact. The margin of the out-of-home division is still under pressure, but is moving in the right direction.
As recently as May, Miko acquired the German company PROCON GmbH, based in Magdeburg, which achieves sales of about 1.5 mio euro with about 10 employees. Procon also operates in the out-of-home market.
Within the business of private label for the retail market, things are difficult. Supermarkets are undergoing very difficult times, and this comes at the expense of passing on increased commodity prices and costs.
Says Frans Van Tilborg, CEO of the Miko Group: “We see our importance in the out-of-home market continuing to grow, not only in euros, but also in volume. We are pleased that we are meeting this challenge in a market that remains a victim of the popularity of working from home. The fact that we have already invested 9.2 mio euro in coffee machines, the engine of this division, confirms our positive outlook.
Private label in retail remains a battle. It will take some time to win it. In any case, we can already confirm that when our new building is completed in a few years, and we merge our aging plants into a better automated plant with state-of-the-art technology, we will realize economies of scale.”
(*) The adjustment refers to the elimination of the sale of an industrial land in 2022.
