02 augustus 2022
14:09
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Duvel Moortgat has had a top financial year. 2022 is shaping up to be more challenging, with higher prices for, among other things, grain and strict lockdowns in China.
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‘I have a good feeling. Most people saved during the pandemic and got richer. There is a willingness to live, to enjoy, to spend. A good summer and a good autumn can make up for a lot.’ Duvel Moortgat CEO Michel Moortgat considered more than a year ago there is a good chance that 2021 would be a great year for his brewery. He was right, according to the recently published annual accounts of the brewer of Duvel, Vedett and La Chouffe.
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Duvel Moortgat achieved a turnover of 505 million euros last year, an absolute record. Profits also spiked. The company posted 148 million euros in gross operating profit (EBITDA) and 78 million euros in net profit. This is how Duvel Moortgat fully recovered from 2020, when sales fell 14 percent and profits were a fifth lower due to the corona measures.
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The brewer sold 2.2 million hectoliters of beer last year, or almost 14 percent more than in 2020. Duvel Moortgat brews beer from its twelve brands in ten breweries in countries such as Belgium, the Netherlands and the United States. He sells it in more than 50 countries. With a share of 36 percent, the US is the most important market for the company from Puurs-Sint-Amands. Belgium (23%) is the second most important market.
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wind eggs
Thanks to the growth, the owners of Duvel Moortgat will receive a dividend of 35 million euros. That is more than the 22 million from last year and the 25 million from 2017, 2018 and 2019. Duvel Moortgat usually pays out just over 40 percent of its profits to its owners.
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Since 2013, Duvel Moortgat has been fully owned by the founding family again. At the time, Michel Moortgat, his brothers Philippe and Bernard and their niece Veerle Baert took the company off the stock exchange. The brothers have the majority, while Baert has a minority share. The stock market exit did not harm the family, because Duvel Moortgat continued to grow strongly. The company paid its shareholders 305 million euros in dividends since the exit.
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thunderclouds
The question arises whether Duvel Moortgat can maintain its profit and dividend in the current financial year, because thunderclouds appeared in the sky. High inflation also affects Duvel Moortgat. The company expects little impact this year from the sharply increased energy prices. ‘We purchased natural gas and electricity in a timely manner, so that the effects are limited’, the annual report states. 2022 will be ‘a difficult purchase year’ for malt.
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On the other hand, Duvel Moortgat is active with very well-known beer brands. This gives Michel Moortgat more power to force price increases at the supermarkets. In recent weeks, it has become clear that other brewers of popular beer brands – such as AB InBev in Heineken – succeed in raising their prices.
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Although the tide may turn for the brewers in the coming months. Both AB InBev and Heineken said they were wary of the near future. Heineken even withdrew its profit forecasts for the current fiscal year. That is not a real surprise, because it was announced this week that the US, among others, has entered a recession.
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2022 will be a difficult purchasing year for malt. We purchased natural gas and electricity in good time, so that the effects are limited.
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That is bad news for Duvel Moortgat. The situation is also challenging in other countries this year. In China, which was still Duvel Moortgat’s only growth market in 2020, brewers are experiencing difficulties this year due to strict corona lockdowns. China generates a turnover of several tens of millions of euros for Duvel Moortgat every year. It is unclear how the company sees the future. It was unavailable for comment.
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In any case, it is a challenging period for Michel Moortgat, who has been at the helm for 29 years. He jumped into the breach at the age of 25 when his father died unexpectedly. At the time, Duvel Moortgat only achieved a turnover of 25 million euros. It depended on the performance of one beer: Duvel. It sold that mainly in Belgium, and a little in neighboring countries.
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Moortgat felt that things had to be done differently and started taking over beer brewers. In 2006 he took over Achouffe, known for the La Chouffe beers. After that, Liefmans and De Koninck followed. He also made acquisitions in the Netherlands, Italy, the Czech Republic and especially the United States. There, Duvel Moortgat owns the Ommegang, Firestone Walker and Boulevard Brewing breweries.
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Duvel Moortgat
Family brewery of specialty beers, founded in 1871 by Jan Leonardus Moortgat.
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In 2006 Duvel Moortgat took over the Achouffe brewery, in 2008 the Liefmans brewery. In 2010 the takeover of the Antwerp brewery De Koninck followed. The company also made acquisitions in the US, UK, Netherlands, Czech Republic and Italy.
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Duvel Moortgat brews the brands Duvel, Vedett, Maredsous, Liefmans, Bel Pils, La Chouffe, Bernard, Ommegang and De Koninck.
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Number of employees: about 2,000.
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Owners: Michel Moortgat, Philippe Moortgat, Bernard Moortgat and Veerle Baert-Moortgat.
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