Lanson Champagne owner Boizel Chanoine Champagne has reported profits down by more than a fifth in 2009, hit by discounting and consumers switching to cheaper bottles.
Net profits for the 12 months of 2009 fell by nearly 22% to EUR16m (US$21.6m), compared to EUR20.5m in 2008, Boizel Chanoine Champagne (BCC) said today (24 March).
Earnings before interest and tax fell by 24%, to EUR38m, while operating margins slipped from 16.8% in 2008 to 14% in 2009 as retailer promotions and discounting drove down price per bottle in the firm’s major markets.
Still, sales for the year fell by 8% to EUR276m, outperforming an average 17% drop in value sales across the Champagne sector during the same period.
This, together with a prediction that Champagne sector volume sales will again break the 300m bottles barrier in 2010, saw Boizel Chanoine’s share price rise by more than 5% today.
“The overstocking still seen at the start of 2009 in the global distribution channels has, to a great extent, been cleared, enabling a better fit now between shipments and consumption,” said the company.
But, the firm was less clear on its own projected performance for 2010.

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By GlobalData“In view of continued economic uncertainties, it is not possible to provide forward-looking data,” it said.