At the meeting held on December 5, the Board of Directors accepted the company's key financial indicators for 9 months, and also, based on robust financial performance, recommended that the General Shareholders Meeting approve the payment of interim dividends for the 3Q of 2022 in the amount of RUB 75 per share before tax, for a total of 968.1 mln rubles, excluding payment of dividends on treasury shares*. The total amount of payments, including dividends for the first half of the year, corresponds to 57% of BELUGA GROUP's net profit under IFRS for the first 9 months of 2022.

The Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders will be held on January 11, 2023 in absentia. It is recommended that the list of shareholders entitled to receive dividends be drawn up as of January 23, 2023.

The payment is in line with the current dividend policy adopted by the company: the amount is at least 50% of the consolidated net profit under IFRS and a target frequency is at least twice a year. The company plans to stick to this policy, no changes are planned.

Hereby, the company demonstrates its focus on the distribution of profits among shareholders, which in turn contribute to the increase of BELUGA GROUP's investment attractiveness, and emphasizes the loyalty of the group to its shareholders even in difficult times.

Key operational and financial highlights:

9 months 2022

Sales in volume terms (mln dcl)

11.4 (+8,.%)

Number of stores

1 256 (+57.0%)

Revenue (bln RUB)

66.3 (+32.2%)

Gross profit (bln RUB)

26.7 (+48.1%)

Gross profit margin (%)

40.3 (+4.3% pp)

Operating profit (bln RUB)

8.8 (+76.3%)

Operating profit margin (%)

13.3 (+3.3% pp)

EBITDA (bln RUB)

12.0 (+71.3%)

EBITDA margin (%)

18.1 (+4.1% pp)

Net profit (bln RUB)

5.2 (+87.5%)

Net income margin (%)

7.9 (+2.3% pp)

Earnings per share (RUB)

390.37 (+80.5%)

For the 9 months of 2022: revenue increased by 32% and reached 66.3 bln rubles, EBITDA increased by 71% and amounted to 12 bln rubles, net profit showed an 88% growth and approached 5.2 bln rubles. These results are due, among other things, to the growth in shipments of brands from the premium segment in Russia, as well as the robust development of our Winelab retail chain. For the first time in the company's history, the EBITDA margin reached 18%, which was primarily due to the group's proactive pricing policy and the achievement of maturity of a significant number of WineLab stores that have reached the normal level of operating efficiency.

In addition to that, a diversified brand portfolio, large-scale distribution and its own specialized retail chain allow the company to adapt its tactics to changes in the external environment and dominate key positions in the industry in all business segments.

Segment report:

mln RUB

Alcohol

Retail

Food

Revenue 9M 2022, incl. intersegment revenue

41 848

34 892

3 492

Revenue 9M 2021, incl. intersegment revenue

33 570

22 510

3 559

Change

+25%

+55%

-2%

Operating profit 9М 2022

6 404

2 406

94

Operating profit 9М 2021

4 072

1 348

(62)

Change

+57%

+78%

-

EBITDA 9M 2022

7 338

4 550

178

EBITDA 9M 2021

4 977

2 362

9

Change

+47%

+93%

+1878%

The steady growth of key financial indicators as well as leadership in key alcohol segments prove the accuracy of the long-term development strategy of BELUGA GROUP: the brand portfolio premiumization, the diversification of business segments, and the introduction of innovations allow the company to confidently move forward and build a business that shows exceptional resilience in times of unprecedented market turbulence.

*As of September 30, 2022, BELUGA GROUP held 2,819 thousands quasi-treasury shares.

Attachments

Disclaimer

Beluga Group PAO published this content on 05 December 2022 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 05 December 2022 07:16:00 UTC.