Strong execution in 2024, marks a key milestone in the growth journey,
building momentum in results delivery
Athens, Greece – March 12, 2025 – GR. Sarantis S.A. (SAR.AT, SAR:GA) announces its consolidated financial results for the twelve-month period ended December 31st, 2024, prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
Full Year 2024 Highlights
Record-high full year Net Sales performance driven by focused execution on strategic priorities
Strong focus on margins expansion led to significant increase in EBITDA and EBIT
Enhanced Net Profit supported by higher operating profitability
Enhancing shareholders’ value through a 33.3% increase in the gross dividend
Strong balance sheet provides firepower and flexibility
Integration of Stella Pack complements the organic growth
Driving Group’s strategic agenda through simplification & efficiency
ESG roadmap with specific decarbonization targets, completed and will be shared in a separate call on 27th March 2025.
2025 Business Outlook:
Giannis Bouras, Chief Executive Officer of Sarantis Group, commented:
“As we reflect on our 2024 progress, I am really proud to share that we effectively sustained our growth momentum achieving a record year of net sales and profitability. Our significant progress demonstrated the resilience of our team and our ability to adapt to evolving market conditions, successfully advancing our strategic initiatives, driving sustainable growth and enhancing operational efficiency. Maintaining a sharp focus on long-term growth, our commitment to investing and innovating in our core categories along with our focus on operational excellence has positioned us well for the future.
The acquisition of Stella Pack in January 2024 further strengthened our Home Care Solutions portfolio and reinforced the Group's geographical footprint in the region where it operates complementing our organic growth of the year. Having concluded the first phase of integration process, moving forward, we are concentrating on finalizing the supply chain unification, along with our investment plans in regranulation systems.
Simplification and efficiency play a significant role in our strategic agenda, in order to unlock value and release energy in the organization. In early 2025 we completed a key milestone, with the first wave of countries successfully implementing SAP S/4HANA and the second wave following in 2026.
I would like to thank our people across our markets and the Group for their dedication and commitment. Thanks to our teamwork we achieved solid performance in both sales and profitability. Looking ahead, we remain focused on delivering value to our stakeholders and we are confident in our ability to build on this momentum and continue delivering on our targets going forward.”
Income Statement Summary |
|||
Amounts in €m |
FY 2024 |
FY 2023 |
Δ% |
Net Sales |
600.1 |
482.2 |
24.4% |
Gross Profit |
226.2 |
182.3 |
24.1% |
Gross Profit Margin |
37.7% |
37.8% |
-11bps |
EBITDA* |
81.6 |
61.6 |
32.5% |
EBITDA margin |
13.6% |
12.8% |
+82bps |
EBIT |
61.0 |
47.1 |
29.6% |
EBIT margin |
10.2% |
9.8% |
+40bps |
EBT |
56.7 |
48.6 |
16.6% |
EBT margin |
9.5% |
10.1% |
-64bps |
Taxes |
10.7 |
9.6 |
10.7% |
Net Profit |
46.0 |
39.3 |
17.1% |
Net Profit margin |
7.7% |
8.2% |
-48bps |
EPS (in €) |
0.7125 |
0.5898 |
20.8% |
* EBITDA: Alternative Performance Indicator as defined in the paragraph 2.14 of the Group’s 2024 Annual Financial Report.
1. 2025 Business Outlook |
We have delivered a strong full year performance, while the overall environment remains challenging. While we retain our attention to macroeconomic and geopolitical risks, we are confident that our strategy and execution, our diversified product portfolio, our people and ability to exploit opportunities for growth will sustainably fuel our progress trajectory towards our targets as described in our 5-Year Plan, presented last year on our Investor Day. Thus, our guidance for 2025 is:
2. Group operational review |
The Group’s total net sales for FY 2024 reached €600.1m from €482.2m in 2023, posting an increase of 24.4% on the back of the Group’s focused execution of its strategic priorities along with revenue growth management initiatives. This performance reaffirms the Group’s focus on the development of a robust organic growth mechanism, coupled with the contribution of Stella Pack. The diversification of the Group’s product portfolio, the emphasis on the HERO product portfolio, as well as its ability to capture growth opportunities, strengthened the Group's sales across the entire geographic footprint and its main categories.
As part of the Group’s strategy to further grow sales and profits organically, emphasis is given in optimizing and enhancing its product portfolio, leveraging the strong brand equity within its strategic product categories across its geographical regions. Targeted investments and innovation plans are allocated behind strategic product development initiatives to drive further growth across the Group’s territory and generate value. Since 2021, the Group has focused on the HERO portfolio, its high-value core brands within its strategic categories that can drive profitability and sustainable growth. To this end a portfolio rationalization process has been implemented, that resulted in the removal of low value adding non-core stock, and generated benefits from the focus placed behind our HERO portfolio through targeted advertising and promotional expenses resulting in increased sales. This strategic focus is expected to continue bringing significant positive impact to the growth prospects of the Group.
Moreover, the Group is working to improve its operational efficiencies and effectiveness focusing on streamlining processes in the supply chain, investing in automations, infrastructure and systems. More specifically, the acceleration
of the digital transformation through integrating modern tools and platforms will enable Sarantis Group to optimize operational workflows, creating a more robust and resilient business and enhancing its competitive advantages.
Committed to enhancing shareholders’ value, the Board of Directors of Sarantis Group will propose to the AGM, dividends for the year 2024 of a gross amount of €20m (€0.299174 per share or 43.5% payout ratio of 2024 Net profit) compared to 2023 dividends of €15.0m (€0.224381 per share or 38.2% payout ratio).
At the end of 2024, the Group had a net debt position of €8.5m from a net cash position of €43.6m at the end of 2023, attributed to the completion of acquisition of Stella Pack in January 2024, funded from the cash reserves of the Group. In addition to this, the Group proceeded with the full repayment of Stella Pack’s external debt of €8.5m. Moreover, in accordance with the approved share buyback program, Sarantis Group proceeded with the purchase of treasury shares at a total cost for the year of €15.8m. In the last quarter of the year the Group made early prepayments of debt amounting to €18.0m.
Overall, the Group managed to improve its operating working capital as percentage of net sales compared to last year's levels, which demonstrates its ability to effectively manage its working capital cycle and reflects the commitment to maintain a healthy cash flow position. Amidst a challenging market environment, Sarantis Group remains committed to its strategic agenda investing in initiatives to accelerate growth and to return value to its stakeholders.
3. Operational review by categories |
Net Sales by category
Net Sales per category* |
|||
Amounts in €m (unless otherwise stated) |
FY 2024 |
FY 2023 |
Δ% |
Beauty, Skin & Sun Care |
59.8 |
48.2 |
24.1% |
% of total sales |
10.0% |
10.0% |
|
Personal Care |
116.5 |
102.8 |
13.4% |
% of total sales |
19.4% |
21.3% |
|
Home Care Solutions |
212.0 |
164.1 |
29.2% |
% of total sales |
35.3% |
34.0% |
|
Private Label |
59.8 |
30.7 |
94.7% |
% of total sales |
10.0% |
6.4% |
|
Strategic Partnerships |
150.6 |
132.6 |
13.6% |
% of total sales |
25.1% |
27.5% |
|
Mass Distribution |
99.1 |
86.0 |
15.3% |
% of category |
65.8% |
64.9% |
|
Selective Distribution |
51.5 |
46.6 |
10.5% |
% of category |
34.2% |
35.1% |
|
Other Sales |
1.4 |
3.9 |
(63.0%) |
% of total sales |
0.2% |
0.8% |
|
TOTAL SALES |
600.1 |
482.2 |
24.4% |
* Net Sales per category: in FY 2024 the Group's operations include Stella Pack.
Operating Profit by category
EBIT by category* |
|||
Amounts in €m (unless otherwise stated) |
FY 2024 |
FY 2023 |
Δ% |
Beauty, Skin & Sun Care |
8.9 |
5.4 |
65.5% |
EBIT margin |
14.9% |
11.2% |
+373bps |
Personal Care |
17.9 |
13.2 |
36.0% |
EBIT margin |
15.4% |
12.8% |
+257bps |
Home Care Solutions |
24.4 |
22.4 |
9.2% |
EBIT margin |
11.5% |
13.6% |
-211bps |
Private Label |
0.4 |
(0.3) |
260.2% |
EBIT margin |
0.7% |
(0.8%) |
+153bps |
Strategic Partnerships |
9.9 |
7.4 |
33.1% |
EBIT margin |
6.6% |
5.6% |
+96bps |
Mass Distribution |
7.0 |
6.0 |
16.1% |
EBIT margin |
7.0% |
7.0% |
+5bps |
Selective Distribution |
2.9 |
1.4 |
104.5% |
EBIT margin |
5.7% |
3.1% |
+261bps |
Other Sales |
(0.6) |
(1.1) |
41.4% |
TOTAL EBIT |
61.0 |
47.1 |
29.6% |
EBIT Margin |
10.2% |
9.8% |
+40bps |
* EBIT by category: in FY 2024 the Group's operations include Stella Pack.
4. Operational review by geography |
Net Sales by geography
In terms of geographical analysis, sales in Greece (including Portugal and selected international markets) amounted to €170.6m in 2024 from €156.0m in 2023, increased by 9.3% driven by growth across our core categories.
In particular, sales in the domestic market of Greece amounted to €151.3m in 2024 from €138.8m in 2023, marking an increase of 9.0%. The main growth driver in Greece for the year 2024 has been the increased sales of suncare products, which reflect the Group’s strategical positioning in the market, along with the favorable weather conditions that prevailed during the period. Additionally, within the year there has been an increase in market shares for Personal Care and Home Care Solutions categories, which underlines consumers’ preferences for the Group’s products. At the same time, increased export activity further supported sales of this geographic business unit with sales to selected international markets & Portugal amounting to €19.3m in 2024 from €17.2m in 2023, increased by 11.9%.
Net sales in our international network, which represent 71.6% of the Group's total sales, increased by 31.7% to €429.5m in 2024 from €326.2m in 2023. Excluding the currency effect, on a currency neutral basis, sales of our international network increased by 30.3%.
In 2024 Poland was the Group’s leading country in total sales recording €184.1m compared to €110.4m in 2023, increased by 66.8%, reflecting not only the contribution of Stella Pack S.A., but also the growth of the rest of Poland’s product portfolio. Specifically, sales of the Branded product portfolio amounted to €128.0m in 2024 from €79.7m in 2023, marking an increase of 60.7%, while sales of the Private Label product portfolio amounted to €56.1m in 2024 from €30.7m in the previous year, increased by 82.7%.
All Group's countries benefited from the broad portfolio of Beauty, Skin & Sun Care and Personal Care products and
capitalized on growth opportunities, resulting in significant sales growth. In addition, the category Home Care Solutions - waste bags and food packaging products - marked a significant increase in sales, boosted by Stella Pack’s
contribution, confirming the Group’s leading position in the category.
Net Sales by geography |
|||
Amounts in €m (unless otherwise stated) |
FY 2024 |
FY 2023 |
Δ% |
Greece (incl. Portugal & selected international markets) |
170.6 |
156.0 |
9.3% |
% of total sales |
28.4% |
32.4% |
|
Greece - Domestic Market |
151.3 |
138.8 |
9.0% |
% of category |
88.7% |
89.0% |
|
Greece - Selected international markets & Portugal |
19.3 |
17.2 |
11.9% |
% of category |
11.3% |
11.0% |
|
Poland |
184.1 |
110.4 |
66.8% |
% of total sales |
30.7% |
22.9% |
|
Poland - Branded product portfolio |
128.0 |
79.7 |
60.7% |
% of category |
69.5% |
72.2% |
|
Poland - Private Label product portfolio |
56.1 |
30.7 |
82.7% |
% of category |
30.5% |
27.8% |
|
Romania |
98.9 |
79.1 |
25.0% |
% of total sales |
16.5% |
16.4% |
|
Czech & Slovakia |
45.8 |
41.1 |
11.5% |
% of total sales |
7.6% |
8.5% |
|
West Balkans* |
40.4 |
37.5 |
7.8% |
% of total sales |
6.7% |
7.8% |
|
Ukraine |
25.0 |
25.3 |
(0.9%) |
% of total sales |
4.2% |
5.2% |
|
Bulgaria |
21.9 |
19.7 |
10.9% |
% of total sales |
3.7% |
4.1% |
|
Hungary |
13.2 |
13.0 |
1.8% |
% of total sales |
2.2% |
2.7% |
|
|
|
|
|
International Network |
429.5 |
326.2 |
31.7% |
% of total sales |
71.6% |
67.6% |
|
TOTAL SALES |
600.1 |
482.2 |
24.4% |
* The geographic area of West Balkans includes sales in Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Slovenia.
Operating Profit by geography
During 2024 the EBIT of Greece (including Portugal and selected international markets) marked an increase of 31.0% to €21.7m from €16.6m in 2023, reflecting strong operating leverage from top-line growth. The EBIT margin of Greece (including Portugal and selected international markets) stood at 12.7% in 2024 from 10.6% in 2023 growing by 210 basis points.
EBIT of domestic market of Greece stood at €16.7m in 2024 from €13.0m in 2023 marking an increase of 28.2% with its relevant EBIT margin at 11.0% in 2024 vs 9.4% in 2023. EBIT of selected international markets and Portugal increased by 41.5% at €5.0m in 2024 compared to €3.6m in 2023 with EBIT margin standing at 26.1% in 2024 from 20.7% in 2023.
The countries of our international network presented an increase in EBIT of 28.8% to €39.3m in 2024 from €30.5m in 2023 attributed to our core categories. The countries' EBIT margin stood at 9.1% from 9.3% in 2023 marking a decrease of 20 basis points.
EBIT of Poland increased by 69.7% at €10.6m in 2024 compared to €6.2m in 2023 and EBIT margin at 5.7% vs 5.6% year-on-year, benefiting from strong operating leverage from top-line growth due to the contribution of Stella Pack S.A. EBIT of Branded product portfolio amounted to €10.4m in 2024 from €6.5m in 2023 with EBIT margin at 8.1% remaining flat compared to 2023 and EBIT of Private Label product portfolio amounted to €0.2m with EBIT margin at 0.4% in 2024.
EBIT by geography |
|||
Amounts in €m (unless otherwise stated) |
FY 2024 |
FY 2023 |
Δ% |
Greece (incl. Portugal & selected international markets) |
21.7 |
16.6 |
31.0% |
EBIT margin |
12.7% |
10.6% |
+210bps |
Greece - Domestic Market |
16.7 |
13.0 |
28.2% |
EBIT margin |
11.0% |
9.4% |
+165bps |
Greece - Selected international markets & Portugal |
5.0 |
3.6 |
41.5% |
EBIT margin |
26.1% |
20.7% |
+545bps |
Poland |
10.6 |
6.2 |
69.7% |
EBIT margin |
5.7% |
5.6% |
+10bps |
Poland - Branded product portfolio |
10.4 |
6.5 |
59.9% |
EBIT margin |
8.1% |
8.1% |
-4bps |
Poland - Private Label product portfolio |
0.2 |
(0.3) |
177.3% |
EBIT margin |
0.4% |
(0.8%) |
+120bps |
Romania |
15.5 |
11.7 |
32.1% |
EBIT margin |
15.6% |
14.8% |
+84bps |
Czech & Slovakia |
6.0 |
4.9 |
22.3% |
EBIT margin |
13.1% |
11.9% |
+117bps |
West Balkans* |
3.9 |
3.6 |
9.2% |
EBIT margin |
9.7% |
9.6% |
+12bps |
Ukraine |
(0.4) |
1.3 |
(132.1%) |
EBIT margin |
(1.7%) |
5.3% |
-697bps |
Bulgaria |
3.0 |
2.5 |
22.1% |
EBIT margin |
13.8% |
12.5% |
+127bps |
Hungary |
0.7 |
0.3 |
175.8% |
EBIT margin |
5.5% |
2.0% |
+350bps |
|
|
|
|
International Network |
39.3 |
30.5 |
28.8% |
EBIT margin |
9.1% |
9.3% |
-20bps |
TOTAL EBIT |
61.0 |
47.1 |
29.6% |
EBIT margin |
10.2% |
9.8% |
+40bps |
* The geographic area of West Balkans includes sales in Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Slovenia.
5. Integration of Stella Pack |
On January 12th, 2024 the acquisition of Stella Pack was successfully completed marking a new chapter in the Group's growth path. This strategic acquisition further strengthens the Group’s position as a leading consumer products company in the Polish market with further enrichment of an already strong product portfolio, while it boosts further growth in the category of consumer household products strengthening the Group's geographical footprint in the region where it operates.
Stella Pack is an important addition to Sarantis Group as it holds a leading position in the production and provision of household goods, with 25 years of successful presence in three countries, Poland, Romania and Ukraine. At the same time, it is an exemplary company in terms of circular economy, as it operates only with recycled plastic to produce plastic bags, having a waste separation line to manufacture internally own recycled plastic that fully meets its production needs.
Within the year, the Group has completed the first phase of the integration process and continues placing focus on the completion of the supply chain unification and on further investments ahead regarding the regranulation process. Initial phase generated synergies aligned with the plans.
The Group achieved synergies from the integration of Stella Pack in line with expectations. Overall Stella Pack’s net sales in 2024 amounted to €74.5m, EBITDA amounted to €10.9m and EBIT to €7.0m, on a stand-alone basis without the allocation of Group’s expenses.
Disclaimer |
This document contains certain “forward-looking” statements. These statements may generally, but not always, be identified by the use of words such as “outlook”, “forecast”, “objective”, “expect”, “plan”, “intend”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “target”, “will”, “aim” and other similar expressions of future performance, results, actions or events. All statements other than statements of historical facts, including, among others, statements and information regarding the future financial position and results of Sarantis Group, the outlook for 2025 and future years as per Sarantis Group’s business strategy, Sarantis Group’s acceleration of its growth plan, Sarantis Group’s portfolio optimisation towards global or scalable brands, the capabilities and potential of such brands, future operational models, strategies, growth potential, performance and returns, as well as the effects of global and local economic conditions, effective tax rates, dividend distribution and Management initiatives regarding Sarantis Group business and financial conditions are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements can be made in writing but also may be made verbally by directors, officers and employees of Sarantis Group (including during management presentations) in connection with this announcement. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, because current expectations and assumptions as to future events and circumstances may not prove accurate. Actual results and events could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements for many reasons, including potential risks described in Sarantis Group Annual Financial Report for the period January 1st until December 31st, 2024.
These forward-looking statements are based upon current beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding anticipated developments and other factors affecting Sarantis Group. They are not historical facts, nor are they guarantees of future performance or outcomes. All forward-looking statements contained in this announcement are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this announcement. Except as required by any applicable law or regulation, Sarantis Group expressly disclaims any intention, obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in Sarantis Group’s expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based. New risks and uncertainties arise over time, and it is not possible for us to predict those events or how they may affect us. In addition, we cannot assess the impact of each factor on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Neither Sarantis Group’s directors, employees, advisors nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of the forward-looking statements.
Readers should not place undue reliance on forward looking statements. Nothing in this document should be construed as a profit forecast and no representation is made that any of these statements or forecasts will come to pass. Persons receiving this announcement should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and are advised to make their own independent analysis and determination with respect to the forecast periods, which reflect the Group’s view only as of the date hereof.
Conference Call Invitation |
Sarantis Group’s management will host a conference call for investors and analysts on Thursday, March 13th, 2025, at 4:00 pm (Athens) / 2:00 pm (London) / 09:00 am (New York). The dial-in numbers are the following:
UK Participants : +44 (0) 800 368 1063
Greek participants: +30 210 946 0800 or +30 213 009 6000
US participants: +1 516 447 5632
Other International: +44 (0) 203 0595 872
The Conference Call will be available via live webcast and you may join by linking at here.
If you experience any difficulty, please call: + 30 210 9460803.
Contact Details |
Sarantis S.A. Investor Relations Team
Tel: (+30) 210 6173065
E-mail: gr-ir@sarantisgroup.com
Website: https://sarantisgroup.com/
Attachments |