Annual Report 2022 of Geschwister Oetker Beteiligungen KG — Successful start for Geschwister Oetker

With sales of EUR 2,474 million, Geschwister Oetker Beteiligungen KG grew by 17.9% in 2022 compared to the respective sales in 2021. The number of employees rose by 5% to over 8,100 in the reporting period.

After the company emerged from the split of the Oetker Group at the end of 2021 as an independent holding company for a diversified portfolio of business units from the former Oetker Group, 2022 was the first regular financial year of the newly formed Group.

Dr. Alfred Oetker, Co-CEO and shareholder: “Having set many goals for the first year of our company, we managed to achieve these and even surpass them in some cases. The growth of almost 18% has primarily been generated organically. Considering the challenging economic environment, we are delighted with our joint success and would like to thank our colleagues in the group companies and also our global customers and business partners.”

All divisions also developed positively on an individual basis.

Henkell Freixenet increased sales by a further 8.5% to EUR 1,181 million (excluding sparkling wine and spirits tax), following 11.9% growth in the previous year. Investments amounted to EUR 39 million, with a focus on site developments in Italy, Spain and Germany.

Henkell Freixenet is the world’s leading producer of sparkling wine. The company operates its own production and sales sites in 33 countries. It exports sparkling wine, wine and spirits to around 150 countries. Henkell Freixenet also stands for a broad portfolio of wine and spirits, covering almost all relevant categories. The company focuses on organic brand growth and the expansion of its leading market positions worldwide.

During the 2022 financial year, the Martin Braun Gruppe grew by 19.7% to reach sales of EUR 626.5 million, compared to EUR 523.2 million in calendar year 2021. The growth was generated across countries and product ranges and clearly demonstrates the company’s strong positioning – despite rapidly changing consumer behaviour and inflation-related price increases.

The Martin Braun Gruppe develops, produces and distributes a full range of convenience products for the baking, confectionery and food service industries. The company supplies its products to wholesalers, retailers, bakeries and confectioners as well as food service and industrial companies in over 100 countries.

In 2022, the specialty chemicals company Budenheim successfully bucked the general trend with strong growth of 37.5% compared to 2021 to generate sales of EUR 519.9 million. Healthy customer demand led to an outstanding year for Budenheim. The company further expanded its production capacities last year and made investments amounting to EUR 48 million. Once again, these were focused on the German site, where a new production building was erected in 2022.

The internationally positioned medium-sized company offers solutions for demanding challenges in specialty chemicals. Its product and service portfolio is split between two operating divisions: Life Science and Material Science. In close cooperation with its customers, the chemical specialist actively develops innovations in the fields of nutrition, health, safety and resource conservation.

In the Hotels division, all reporting units significantly increased their sales in the 2022 financial year compared to the 2021 calendar year. The group-owned hotels Le Bristol Paris and Château Saint-Martin & Spa benefited from strong average rate performance and year-on-year occupancy increases. The other hotels in the Oetker Collection benefited from the same developments.

The Oetker Hotel Management Company, which belongs to Geschwister Oetker, manages eight unique Masterpiece Hotels alongside its own hotels as part of the Oetker Collection. Management contracts have now also been signed for two more luxury hotels. These will be integrated into the Group portfolio over the next two years.

Several companies from different sectors are combined in the Other Interests division. These include the US real estate portfolio Columbus Properties, Inc., the Swiss company Atlantic Forfaitierungs AG, and Belvini.de GmbH, an online retailer of selected wines that was integrated into Henkell Freixenet in May 2023 and strengthens its online competitive position in this segment. Together, the companies under Other Interests generated sales of EUR 26.0 million in 2022.

Geschwister Oetker Beteiligungen KG closed the financial year with total assets of EUR 7,067 million. Total assets decreased by EUR 577 million compared with the previous year, mainly due to the amortization of hidden reserves and goodwill.

Fixed assets accounted for 52.8% of total assets. In the 2022 financial year, current investments in the intangible assets and property, plant and equipment amounted to EUR 164 million. Of this amount, the Sparkling Wine, Wine and Spirits division accounted for 24%, Specialty Chemicals for 29%, Food for 29%, Hotels and Hotel Management for 15%, and Other Interests and the holding company for 3%.

Amortization of intangible assets, depreciation of property, plant and equipment, goodwill and current assets totalled EUR 579 million, of which EUR 499 million related to hidden reserves and goodwill from the legally required first-time consolidation in 2021. No significant impairment losses were recognized in the 2022 financial year.

Equity amounts to EUR 5,315 million and the equity ratio is 75%.

The business environment in 2023 continues to be marked by geopolitical uncertainties, intensifying climatic conditions and a loss of consumer purchasing power due to inflation. However, thanks to its attractive products and market positioning, Geschwister Oetker is confident of also generating slight sales growth in the current year 2023.

Due to the wide diversification of the Group in different companies, which operate in distinct sectors and markets, there are also numerous opportunities for 2023, despite a mixed economic situation that hampers planning. The international composition of the Group, with 144 individual companies in 35 countries, plays a major role in these opportunities.

Carl Ferdinand Oetker, Co-CEO and shareholder: “Our Group has a solid financial base and, with its diversified activities, is well positioned to continue its success even in volatile and rapidly changing markets. As a family business, we combine tradition and new beginnings at our group of companies. We therefore look with confidence into the future.”

The shareholders and owners of Geschwister Oetker are the three children from Rudolf-August Oetker’s third marriage: Dr. Alfred, Carl Ferdinand and Julia Johanna Oetker. As co-CEOs, Dr. Alfred and Carl Ferdinand Oetker manage the Group together with Dr. Harald Schaub as CFO and the CEOs of the largest group companies: Dr. Andreas Brokemper (Henkell Freixenet); Dr. Detlev Krüger (Martin Braun); Dr. Stefan Lihl (Budenheim) and Dr. Timo Grünert (Oetker Collection).

The 2022 financial year of Geschwister Oetker comprises twelve months, whereas the previous year was based only on the two months of November and December 2021. The information in this press release on the performance of each division compares to the twelve-month calendar year 2021.