Efes’ 2016 results in line with guidance

In the end, 2016 did not turn out quite as bad as feared for Turkish beer and soft drink company Anadolu Efes. Thanks to reporting consolidated sales for both beer and soft drinks, Efes achieved 1.5 percent sales volume growth and 2.1 percent revenue growth in 2016; however, EBITDA margin was flattish.

2016 was especially tough for Efes’ Turkey beer operations. Because of the political and economic situation, Turkish beer sales dropped 10 percent to 6 million hl, while revenues declined 3.1 percent.

As for Russia, improving consumer sentiment with a recovering economy, favourable weather and the postponement of PET size restrictions until 2017 helped the market perform better than expected. Efes international beer sales (excluding Turkey) stood at 13.9 million hl (-0.9 percent) in 2016. The company reported a net loss for its beer group 2016, which was smaller than in 2015, though. Weighing in on its results was the Ukraine.

In 2017, as concerns its beer business, Efes hopes to deliver low single digit volume growth and revenue growth ahead of volumes. EBITDA margin is expected to stay flat – 20 percent for international beer, 28 percent for Turkish beer.

Efes ranks itself the sixth-largest brewer in Europe.