In 2003, Wimm-Bill-Dann’s sales rose 13.8% to US$938.5 million compared to US$824.7 million in 2002. Gross profit increased by 11.6% compared to last year, while gross margins decreased to 29.1% in 2003 from 29.7% in 2002. Net income decreased to US$21.2 million in 2003 from US$35.7 million last year. Adjusted EBITDA* increased by 2.5% year-on-year to US$85.4 million. Adjusted EBITDA* margin was 9.1% in 2003 compared to 10.1% in the year 2002.
“For Wimm-Bill-Dann, the year 2003 became a year of major modernization initiatives and significant strategic choices”, — David Iakobachvili, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods OJSC, said in a statement. “The company retained its leading market position, despite a number of internal and external factors, which affected its performance in 2003. We remain committed to maintaining our leadership in both the dairy and juice segments while steadily increasing our share in the water and cheese markets. In 2003, we also made substantial changes to our Management Board and strengthened our management, which makes us confident that we have a strong and capable team taking the company into 2004 and beyond”.
Key Operating and Financial Indicators of FY 2003
* Note: See Attachment A for definitions of Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin and reconciliations to net income.
Sales in the Dairy Segment increased 17.6% from US$563.0 million in 2002 to US$662.3 million in 2003. Sales growth was made up of sales volume growth of 6.3% and selling price increase. The average selling price increased by 10.0% from US$0.60 per 1 kg in 2002 to US$0.66 per 1 kg in 2003 driven by incremental ruble price increase, ruble appreciation and change in product mix favoring value added products. Gross margins tightened from 29.3% in 2002 to 27.1% in 2003 due to the growth in raw milk prices, additional depreciation of newly installed capacity and personnel expenses growth.
Sales in the Juice Segment increased 4.9% from US$261.7 million in 2002 to US$274.5 million in 2003. Sales growth was made up of sales volume decrease by 0.6% and the increase of the selling price. The average selling price increased from US$0.55 per liter in the year 2002 to US$0.58 per liter in the year 2003, primarily due to incremental ruble price increase and ruble appreciation partially offset by the change in product mix in favor of lower priced brands. Gross margins in Juice segment rose from 31.0% in 2002 to 34.2% in 2003 as a result of a higher pricing on the backdrop of essentially flat sales volume and cost of sales.
In 2003, Wimm-Bill-Dann’s total selling and distribution expenses increased 28.5% to US$140.7 million from US$109.5 million in 2002, reaching 15.0% of 2003 sales against 13.3% in 2002. Media inflation, continuing regional expansion and provisions recorded for bad debts were the main factors affecting selling and distribution expenses.
Increased personnel costs and expenses for professional services contributed to a 20.6% increase in general and administrative expenses from $63.0 million in 2002 to $76.0 million in 2003. Wimm-Bill-Dann’s expenses for audit, legal and consulting services almost doubled as a result of the company’ expansion, more stringent requirements imposed upon Wimm-Bill-Dann as a public company and the launch of a number of initiatives aimed at improving our performance.
Financial expenses increased by 8.5% due to the interest expense growth to US$20.9 million and were partially offset by currency gain of US$4.9 million and interest income of US$2.9 million.
Commenting on today’s announcement Sergei Plastinin, Chief Executive Officer of Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods OJSC, said: “In 2003, we spent time and effort digesting our rapid growth. In addition to modernization of our production facilities and warehouses we focused on innovative product development and improvement of our distribution network, laying a solid foundation for the future growth.”
2003 Operational Highlights
Wimm-Bill-Dann foods OJSC announces full year 2003 financial resultsTo view this information you will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods OJSC16 Yauzsky Boulevard, Moscow, RussiaPhone: +7 095 733-97-26/9727Fax: +7 095 733-97-25web: http://www.wbd.comE-mail: kagan@wbd.ru
Some of the information in this press release may contain projections or other forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financial performance of Wimm-Bill-Dann, as defined in the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We wish to caution you that these statements are only predictions and that actual events or results may differ materially. We do not intend to update these statements to conform them to actual results. We refer you to the documents Wimm-Bill-Dann files from time to time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Form F-1. These documents contain and identify important factors, including those contained in the section captioned “Risk Factors” in our Form F-1, that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those contained in our projections or forward-looking statements, including, among others, potential fluctuations in quarterly results, our competitive environment, acquisition strategy, risks associated with operating in Russia, volatility of stock price, financial risk management, and future growth subject to risks.All news