Paulig achieves record sales, but lower profits

Finnish Paulig, known for brands such as Santa Maria and now also Conimex, has reached record sales last year, rising 2.7 % to 1.2 billion euros.

Challenging conditions

Paulig managed to raise its sales by 2.7 % to 1,198.9 million euros last year, with nearly half (48 %) originating from Scandinavian countries. Comparable EBITDA decreased by 3.4 % to 132.6 million euros (which is 11.0 % of its revenue), while net profit decreased from 89.1 to 67.0 million euros.

CEO Rolf Ladau pointed to a challenging market environment with volatile coffee prices, a significant price increase in the fourth quarter and geopolitical instability. However, he believes the company has established a solid foundation for further profitable and sustainable growth. The recent acquisitions of the British sauce producer Panesar and Dutch condiment brand Conimex should help expansion in the Asian food category in the European market.

Meanwhile, the company has appointed Kaisa Lipponen as new director for its Belgian subsidiary, Snack Food Poco Loco. Lipponen has been with Paulig for over five years and also serves as Senior Vice President for Sustainability, Health, Safety & Environment, and Communications. Roeselare in Belgium is Paulig’s largest production site, employing nearly 900 people across three factories that collectively produce six million wraps and one million bags of tortilla chips daily. The company also has production sites in Estonia, Finland, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.