© Refresco/Richard Sinon
European bottler Refresco has seen its total volume grow by 8% and co-packing volumes increase by more than 60%, as it presents its third-quarter returns.
Total volume reached beyond 1.8 billion litres in quarter three, Refresco said, while co-packing volumes were up to 486 million litres.
Despite this, private-label volumes decreased by 3.7% to below 1.32 billion litres.
The company also reported a gross profit margin per litre of €0.138, and net profit of €31.6 million – up 15% – from €67.9 million of pre-tax earnings
Refresco CEO Hans Roelofs said that the growth was in part down to the bottler’s acquisitions strategy and focus on its co-packing operation.
He said: “Our total volume and results developed favorably in the quarter. Volume growth was primarily driven by recent acquisitions and our strategy to rapidly grow the co-packing business. Strong comparatives last year, linked to good weather, and our earlier decision to discontinue low-margin, large-volume contracts was reflected in our lower private label volumes in the third quarter. The strong growth in co-packing especially has helped us to slightly outperform the soft drinks market in Europe on a like-for-like basis.
“We finalised the acquisition of US-based Whitlock Packaging in September and the integration of the newly acquired company is well on track creating a solid platform to execute our growth strategy in North America.”
The company dropped the second part of its previous name, Refresco Gerber, in a major rebranding move in June.
FoodBev reported at the time that the change reflected the successful integration of its two constituent businesses and was designed to facilitate further global expansion, two and a half years after the merger between Refresco and Gerber Emig juice.
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