Amendments to financing agreements extended for two years

The 2020/21 full-year results were negatively impacted by COVID-19, mainly as a result of on-trade closures, travel restrictions and destocking by distributors
Reported revenue for the 2020/21 financial year is expected to come in at € 57.3 million (down 32% year-on-year), with a gross margin of around 52.5%
Depletions (sales by distributors) were down 16%, which should be seen in the context of the fact that over half of Lucas Bols’ business is normally conducted in the on-trade
Depletions returned to growth in March, driven by important markets like the US, Australia, the UK and France
Strong cost-saving measures partly mitigated the impact of COVID-19 on operating profit (before one-off items and impairment charges), which is expected to decrease to € 8.6 million
Strict cash and working capital management drove a solid expected free operating cash flow of € 11.4 million (2019/20: € 15.8 million)
Net debt is expected to be reduced by € 6.9 million to € 92.4 million as a result of the strong cash conversion
The roll-out of vaccination programmes worldwide and gradual lifting of restrictions should drive further recovery in depletions, albeit later than initially anticipated
We agreed a two-year extension of the April 2020 amendments to the financing arrangements to continue covenant compliance while further executing our growth strategy
Huub van Doorne, CEO Lucas Bols: “We are pleased with the agreed extension of the amendments to our financing arrangements, which reflects the ongoing support and commitment of the banks. This will enable us to benefit fully once restrictive measures are lifted and consumer demand recovers, and to continue to build our future by accelerating new strategic and commercial initiatives.”


210429 Lucas Bols press release - Update on 2020-21 full-year results.pdf
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