The Italian coffee machine and appliance manufacturer has hailed the strength of its business in the face of ongoing ‘extraordinarily challenging and complex’ trading conditions
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De'Longhi said a fall in consumer demand created an ‘excess accumulation of stock’ last year | Photo credit: De'Longhi
De’Longhi is forecasting continued economic challenges for the year ahead after falling consumer demand and rising inflation negatively impacted its 2022 revenues.
Confirming its full-year results, the Italian coffee machine and appliance manufacturer said group sales fell 2% year-on-year to €3.2bn ($3.4bn).
However, 2022 revenues remain 50% higher than in 2019, when the company earned €2.1bn.
In an update to its provisional results in January 2023, De’Longhi said ‘conservative consumer behaviour’ hindered fourth quarter sales, with revenues in the three months ended 31 December 2022 falling 4% year-on-year to €1bn ($1.1bn).
The Treviso-based coffee machine and appliance manufacturer added that the fall in consumer demand, particularly across Europe, created an ‘excess accumulation of stock’ in the first nine months of 2022.
De’Longhi subsequently implemented ‘extraordinary measures’ in its fourth quarter to reduce costs generated by production inefficiencies and stock management.
“I am very satisfied with how the group has been able to react to the extraordinarily challenging and complex scenario that has arisen in 2022, considering how this scenario has led to a deterioration in consumer confidence and purchasing power and how intensely it has put a strain on the management of production costs throughout our industrial sector,” said CEO Fabio De’Longhi.
“2023 begins in a context not very different from the second half of 2022 which allows us to expect a progressive improvement in the economic climate and consumption in the second half of the year after a difficult start. We estimate that we will be able to close the year with slightly lower revenues and an adjusted EBITDA in the range of €370m ($397m),” De’Longhi added.
In January 2023 the Italian coffee machine and appliance manufacturer appointed Nicola Serafin to the new position of General Manager, who will report directly to CEO Fabio de' Longhi.
De’Longhi Group, which said Serafin will take responsibility for operational management on a global level, said the appointment was an essential step in guaranteeing De’Longhi’s long-term growth and profitability.