Katjes International grows in double digit sales after acquiring Cloetta’s Italian division

The increase was mainly driven by the company’s $54.3m acquisition​​ of Cloetta’s Italian business Sperlari, in September 2017, said the company.

The deal included the brands Sperlari, Saila, Dietor, Galatine and Dietorelle, as well as Cloetta’s factories in Cremona, San Pietro in Casale, Gordona and Silvi Marina, according to ConfectioneryNews.

Katjes International noted Sperlari is the second largest sugar confectionery company in Italy and the acquisition helped itself foray into the country’s candy market.

Additonally, the group’s operating result increased to €59.9m ($72.8m) last year. “This includes effects from the purchase price allocation of the Sperlari acquisition of €38.8m ($47.5m),”​ it said.

Adjusted for the effects of the first-time consolidation of Sperlari, the company’s EBITDA was €21.1m ($25.8m) in 2017 compared to €12.4m ($15.2m) the previous year, Katjes International added.

Its EBITDA margin was 7.9% compared to 5.5% in 2016 – “hence, an improvement of 70% was achieved in adjusted EBITDA,”​ said the company.

Business outlook

“We look back on a very good year 2017… We plan to continue our sustainable course in 2018 and beyond,”​ said Tobias Bachmüller, managing shareholder at Katjes International, in a statement.

“For the current financial year, the company is expecting consolidated revenues between €310m ($379m) and €330m ($404m), representing a further increase of at least 15%,”​ he said.

“The company also plans to achieve an EBITDA margin of around 8%,”​ added Bachmüller.