The Spanish brewery Damm presents its results for last year and invoiced 1,876 million. The figure represents an increase of 26% compared to the previous year. However, it reduced its net profit by 16.4%, to 101 million euros, as a result of the general rise in costs, as reported this Tuesday in a statement published by Europa Press.
However, the results will be submitted for approval at the shareholders’ meeting to be held at the Antigua Fábrica Estrella Damm, in Barcelona, on Tuesday, May 23. The company has verified “the good evolution of the business and the levels exceeded prior to the pandemic” during the year, in which a workforce of 5,577 people was achieved.
However, he has contrasted the beginning of 2022 with the end: after the return to normality “with especially notable growth in the hospitality channel”, the war in Ukraine worsened the supply chain and made energy, raw materials, materials more expensive packaging and logistics.
Up to 21.6 million hectoliters sold
Even so, the company notes solid results “thanks to the efforts and investments made to constantly improve the efficiency and productivity” of all its activity. Among these efforts, he has highlighted his willingness to protect the interests of hotel customers and the purchasing power of consumers to “avoid transferring cost increases to prices”.
Sales volumes rose in all product categories: in 2022, 21.6 million hectoliters were sold, compared to 19.33 the previous year, representing 12% more than total production in 2021. margin of the beverage division, the rest of the distribution, catering and logistics businesses had “a great performance in line with the increase in consolidated revenues”.
internationalization
The beverage group is present in more than 130 countries; more than 30% of the activity of the beverage business is carried out in the foreign market and in its own production facilities; it has more than 500 people dedicated only to international activities, and the British market is one of the main markets where its beers continue to gain share.
The purchase of the English factory Eagle Brewery (the first outside the Iberian Peninsula) has reinforced this presence: it has a production capacity of 1 million hectoliters per year (mainly draft beer) and directly employs a workforce of 67 people.
Sustainability
Damm has highlighted its commitment to sustainability throughout the process: for example, it uses 36% less energy to produce each hectoliter of beer in branded beer plants, compared to 15 years ago; and invested 8.2 million in 2022 in R&D of new products, container and packaging design, and improvement of industrial processes and efficiency of raw materials.
It has also stressed that it is “the brewery group in the Iberian Peninsula with the largest extension of self-production of solar energy” and that in 2002 it reduced the ratio of water consumption in its factories by 36% since 2008. In 2023 they plan to continue expanding their photovoltaic park : invests 3.6 million in 23,500 m2 of solar panels in the El Prat de Llobregat, Moravia, Murcia, Malaga and Barcelona ZAL factories; and also in 2023 more than half of the electricity consumed by Damm will come from its own generation (and 82% in the main factory in El Prat).
damm foundation
From the Damm Foundation, at the end of 2022 the works for the construction of what will be its future sports city in Barcelona were presented. There will be 30,000 m2 on the Montjuïc mountain, with two 11-a-side football fields (one can be divided into two 7-a-side football fields) and two buildings.