Royal Swinkels Family Brewers continues to invest in growth and grows to 59% circularity score

20-04-2023

Thanks to increasing sales volumes and cost savings, Royal Swinkels Family Brewers recovered from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022. Despite challenging conditions in the value chain, and rising energy and raw material prices, Royal Swinkels Family Brewers managed to achieve good results. Profits recovered in 2022 and the financial position remained very strong. This provided a good starting position to further invest in future growth and next generations. Investments of EUR €136 million were made in 2022. In addition, the circularity score improved to 59%, 3 percentage points higher than in 2021.

CEO Peer Swinkels, who was reappointed for a second four-year term: "The fact that we remained financially healthy during the crisis is primarily thanks to our employees. 2022 gave us the chance to work, win and raise the glass together again. We managed to continue our growth of 2021 and our profitability has been restored. We recorded positive results within all three of our divisions. Early 2022, we started implementing our new strategic plan to make our divisions even more future-proof. Initial results are encouraging: our brands in Western Europe are performing better, volumes in our Ethiopian brewery are growing, our customer base in Europe has expanded, we managed to further reduce our working capital and we exceeded our circularity target. In 2023, we will build on these strategic choices so that our business remains resilient for the future, and we can pass it on even more beautifully to future generations."

Overall financial results
Royal Swinkels Family Brewers’ sales rose from EUR 835 million in 2021 to EUR 1,032 million in 2022, an increase of 23%. Through volume growth and cost measures, the family business maintained its margin percentage, resulting in an EBITDA of EUR 109.2 million.

Swinkels Family Brewers division
The 'beer division' recovered well from lockdowns in 2022 with the key brands experiencing further growth. The broad product portfolio and presence in multiple sales channels proved to be an asset;

especially in the e-commerce and out-of-home channels, sales of almost all brands grew. Results in the Netherlands and Belgium were still under pressure at the beginning of the year due to COVID-19 but recovered well. Export of key brands to many countries increased strongly. Investments were made in on-trade as a sales channel, mainly through the acquisition of a large number of Belgian on-trade outlets.

Holland Malt division
Besides selling beer to consumers, Royal Swinkels Family Brewers also participates in the production of malt for brewers and whisky producers. The Holland Malt division also achieved good results. It was a challenging year in which the malting division faced significant cost price increases and limited availability of barley. Despite these challenges, Holland Malt's malting plants continued to operate at full capacity. As a result, Holland Malt was able to protect results and profitability. In addition, the process of making the malting process at Eemshaven completely emission-free is on track for go-live in 2024.

Habesha Breweries division
There were positive developments in Ethiopia in 2022. The country returned to calm as tensions around the armed conflict in the north eased and fewer drastic COVID-19 measures were at play.

Habesha Breweries’ volumes increased and sales of all Ethiopian brands grew substantially.

Circularity
Royal Swinkels Family Brewers also continued to make strides on circularity. The calculation methodology on circularity, the Swinkels Circularity Index, was further enhanced in 2022. The calculation method (with assurance from the auditor) and its results are part of the integrated annual report. The circularity score in 2022 was 59%, a growth of 3 percentage points compared to 2021. This growth partly is the result of energy-saving projects, material savings on packaging and offsetting CO2 emissions in transport.

In addition, the family-owned brewer also committed to the Science Based Targets initiative in 2022. This means that Royal Swinkels Family Brewers aims to be completely climate neutral by 2050, and thereby focuses on reducing CO2 emissions. And with result: the company has managed to reduce its emissions by 37% since 2019. With the realisation of the emission-free malting plant in Eemshaven, the family business also takes a major step towards energy transition. In 2024, the malting plant will switch to a fossil-free malting process, making a major contribution to Royal Swinkels Family Brewers circular ambitions.

Read the full 2022 Royal Swinkels Family Brewers annual report at 2022 Annual Report (swinkelsfamilybrewers.com)