CPR Davide Campari

By Andrea Figueras

Shares in Davide Campari-Milano fell after the maker of Aperol posted lower-than-expected sales growth for the third quarter.

At 1043 GMT on Thursday shares were down 13% at EUR9.60, after being halted earlier in the day.

The Italian distiller reported sales for quarter that ended in September of 743.5 million euros ($785.6 million), up 4.4% organically, but falling short of expectations as analysts polled by Visible Alpha had forecast organic growth of 8.5%.

Earnings before interest and taxes came in at EUR147.4 million, down from EUR177.2 million in the year-earlier period.

Overall, results were disappointing and will likely continue to weigh on the shares, Citi analysts wrote in a research note.

The result of sales growth was due to an expected normalization and unfavorable weather conditions across the company's key European markets affecting the aperitifs in their peak season, especially in Italy, it said.

The company said quarterly growth was against a tough comparison as sales during last year's third quarter grew 19% organically, benefiting from price increases, Campari said.

Although an easing comparison base and cost-of-goods-sold headwinds should mean that the fourth quarter will be better, the scale of the third-quarter miss might prompt mid-single-digit downgrades to consensus earnings for 2023, Citi said.

For 2023, Campari said it continues to expect a flat organic adjusted EBIT margin.

Write to Andrea Figueras at andrea.figueras@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 26, 2023 07:17 ET (11:17 GMT)

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