Papoutsanis: 3% growth in turnover in 2023 Q1
PRESS RELEASE
April 12th 2023
Papoutsanis: 3% growth in turnover in 2023 Q1
Papoutsanis S.A., one of the largest soap producers in Europe, announces its Q1 turnover.
Specifically, turnover was up 3%, with sales coming in at €15.3 million, compared to €14.9 million in the same period in 2022.
The value of exports for Papoutsanis in the current period amounted to €10.0 million, compared to €11.1 million in the first three quarters of 2022, making up 65% of the total turnover and registering a decrease of 10%.
Regarding the contribution of the four activity sectors to total figures, it should be noted that 21% of total revenue comes from sales of Papoutsanis branded products in Greece and abroad, 18% from sales in the hotel market, 44% from third party product production, and 17% from industrial sales of specialty soap bases.
Overview by Activity Sector
Branded products: The category reported strong growth of 33% compared to 2022 Q1 despite the significant decline in the antiseptic market in the organised retail trade sector (-56% for the two-month period January-February 2023 compared to the same period last year). Excluding antiseptics, the branded products category grew by 70%; around half of this was due to the positive contribution made by acquisition of the ARKADI soap factory, while the rest comes from organic growth of Papoutsanis' mass distribution products. PAPOUTSANIS personal care products are gaining a significant market share in Greece and at the same time have more than tripled their sales abroad and hold out very good prospects for further growth.
Hotel Products: Hotel sales remained at the same level as in 2022 Q1, with domestic sales more than doubling compared to last year, making up for the drop in sales abroad; these figures need to be compared to a very strong 2022 Q1 due to the re-opening of business travel and the tourism market after two years of pandemic-related lockdowns.
Third Party Products (Industrial Sales, Private Label): Sales in this category remained at the same levels as in 2022 Q1 while new partnerships in this category were also forged. It appears that the market's need for sustainable & niche products is returning to pre-COVID levels as customers in this category are now seeking to develop new projects.
Industrial Sales of Soap Bases: There was a 9% drop in 2023 Q1 in this category (which primarily relates to foreign customers) mainly due to non-sale of the commodity soap bases manufactured in SE Asia. In 2022, by exploiting increased transport costs and long delays in deliveries from Asia, the Company was able to meet a small part of the overall demand in Europe, Africa and the Middle East for similar soap bases. Transport costs and delivery times from Asia have now returned to normal, but the fact that the Company was able to meet specific needs has left it with partnerships that will only serve to bolster this category going forward.
Menelaos Tassopoulos, CEO of Papoutsanis S.A., commented: “The strategy of increasing our market share and taking an outward-looking approach to all four pillars of the company's operations, by developing quality, sustainable and specialised products in the relevant markets, led to an increase in turnover for Q1 and created positive prospects for the entire year ahead”.