Rotterdam, the Netherlands - August 11, 2016. Refresco Group N.V. publishes second quarter and half year 2016 results.

Q2 2016 highlights:
•Group volume of 1,703.3 million liters (Q2 2015: 1,672.2 million liters), an increase of 1.9%.
•Co-Packing volume increased 18.8% and comprised 25.2% of total volume (Q2 2015: 21.6%). Private Label volume decreased 2.8%.
•Gross profit margin per liter was 14.0 euro cents (Q2 2015: 14.2 euro cents).
•Adjusted EBITDA increased to €68.3 million (Q2 2015: €67.6 million).
•Adjusted net profit amounted to €30.3 million (Q2 2015: €29.0 million).
•Adjusted EPS increased to 37.3 euro cents (Q2 2015: 35.7 euro cents).
•Announced acquisition of US-based bottler Whitlock Packaging on 26 July.

In millions of €, unless stated otherwise
Un-audited

Q2 2016 Q2 2015 HY 2016 HY 2015
Volume (millions of liters) 1,703.3 1,672.2 3,027.9 3,049.5
Revenue 558.7 548.4 1,006.6 1,006.6
Gross profit margin per liter (euro cents)[1] 14.0 14.2 14.3 14.2
EBITDA 66.6 62.3 100.6 79.4
Adjusted EBITDA 68.3 67.6 102.6 104.7
Net profit / (loss) 28.9 5.4 34.6 (9.9)
Adjusted net profit / (loss) 30.3 29.0 36.3 31.6
Adjusted EPS[2] (euro cents) - pro forma 37.3 35.7 44.7 40.6
Net debt ratio (net debt/LTM adjusted EBITDA)

CEO Refresco, Hans Roelofs: "The unfavorable weather conditions throughout Europe and continued pressure on the private label market have created a challenging environment for Refresco to grow volumes while keeping margins at a sustainable level. Even though we gained some private label volumes, the impact of our earlier decision to discontinue low margin-large volume contracts, mainly in water and CSD's, was still visible in the second quarter. Mainly driven by the recent DIS acquisition, Co-Packing volumes continued to develop favorably during the quarter. Looking ahead, the third quarter had a soft start due to the poor summer weather and continued challenging market conditions for private label affecting our volumes in July. Therefore, we expect volumes this year to be below our medium term guidance."

"We are well on track to complete the acquisition of US-based Whitlock Packaging, which was announced in July and we expect to complete the transaction in September. It is our first step beyond Europe and the start of creating a second growth platform with value creating opportunities similar to what we have in Europe."

[1] Gross profit margin per liter, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EPS (euro cents)-pro forma, net debt ratio (net debt/LTM adjusted EBITDA) and adjusted net profit/(loss) are not a measure of our financial performance under IFRS. We apply adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net profit to exclude the effects of certain exceptional charges that we believe are not indicative of our underlying operating performance. Such adjustments relate primarily to substantial one-off restructurings, costs relating to acquisitions or disposals, refinancing, IPO relating costs and related tax effect.


[2] Adjusted EPS has been calculated based upon adjusted net profit. The number of issued shares amounts to 81.2 million shares in Q2 2016 and in Q2 2015. YTD 2015 the number of shares was determined on a pro forma basis of 77.9 million.

Earnings per share
The adjusted earnings per share in Q2 2016 increased to 37.3 euro cents (Q2 2015: 35.7 euro cents). The
average number of shares was 81.2 million, equal to the average number of shares in Q2 2015.

Balance sheet and financial position
Balance sheet total amounted to €1,767.1 million compared to €1,641.1 million at the end of December
2015. Total cash and cash equivalents at the end of Q2 2016 was €65.6 million (December 31, 2015: €95.7 million).
Net debt amounted to €566.3 million consisting of €631.9 million in loans and borrowings and €65.6 million cash and cash equivalents, compared to a net debt of €457.5 million at December 31, 2015. Net debt ratio, based on LTM adjusted EBITDA, amounted to 2.6 compared to a ratio of 2.1 at the end of December 2015.

Capex, working capital and cash flow
Capex spending in the second quarter of 2016 was €17.1 million compared to €19.9 million in the same quarter last year.
Working capital reflected a normal seasonal pattern. In Q2 2016 it was €77.8 million compared to €75.2 million in Q2 2015.
In the second quarter of 2016 net cash generated from operating activities amounted to €32.1 million compared to €(5.6) million in the same period last year. The higher generated net cash is mainly explained by the inclusion of refinancing related expenses in the second quarter of 2015.

Subsequent events
Refresco extended and increased the syndicated loan facilities, which were arranged in May 2015, with a new unsecured syndicated term loan facility in July 2016.
Refresco announced it has agreed to acquire Whitlock Packaging, a leading bottler in co-packing services in the US.
Additional information on the refinancing and the Whitlock acquisition can be found in the press releases of July 4 and July 26, respectively.
On August 3 Refresco signed a preliminary agreement to take-over Sanpellegrino’s bottling facility in Recoaro, Italy, including a multi-year co-packing agreement.

Outlook
We confirm our medium term guidance of low to mid-single digit average organic annual volume growth. Gross profit margin per liter in the medium term may come down marginally due to product mix effects, based on current outlook on the market and competitive environment.
For 2016 we expect volumes to be below the medium term guidance. Excluding acquisitions, we expect the gross profit margin per liter for 2016 to remain flat compared to the gross profit margin per liter over 2015 (14.2 euro cents).
Financial calendar 10 November 2016 Publication of third quarter results 2016

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De Midcap 641,82 -0,14 -0,02% Refresco EUR 13,85 -21ct vol. 27.000