Lekkerland: concentration on core business

The European convenience specialist Lekkerland AG & CO. KG, Frechen, consistently drove forward the realignment of the Group in 2013, initiated strategically important projects and achieved defined milestones. To strengthen the core business, acquisitions in Spain and Switzerland were successfully concluded and new important customers were acquired in international markets. Conversely,, Lekkerland reports the systematic divestment of the unprofitable activities in Eastern Europe (Czech Republic, Poland, Romania). The Group succeeded in increasing sales by € 206 m to € 11.69 bn (without the discontinued business in the Eastern Europe segment) in 2013.

Lekkerland Germany increased its sales by 2.3 % to € 7.16 bn compared with 2012 (adjusted by the sales of Convenience Concept in 2012 by as much as 3.5 %). Unlike 2012, the company once again achieved rising sales in 2013 in the Rest of Western Europe segment with growth of € 46.4 m (1.0 %). Belgium, Spain and Switzerland made a positive contribution to this result. Sales were reduced in the Netherlands – mainly on account of the changes in value added tax on tobacco products – and in Austria.

Although Lekkerland succeeded in gaining market shares, it was unable to achieve its earnings targets due to significant expenses incurred in connection with the realignment of the Group. Earnings after tax fell from € 80.1 m to € 19.6 m (including Eastern Europe) by comparison with the year 2012, although the fall in earnings was mainly due to a one- off amount from the sale of Conve­nience Concept in the previous year.

“We identified potential for optimi­zation and we initiated internal structural changes,” explained Michael Hoffmann, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Lekkerland Group. “Implementation of the growth strategy tied up significant personnel and financial resources in 2013,” ­explained the CEO. Lekkerland also invested in information technology:

The so-called ”Become One” transformation project will optimise the business and IT processes and standardise them across Europe. This will make a significant contribution to enhancing the effectiveness and the ­efficiency of the Lekkerland Group. The improvement and standardisation of IT and business processes is the focus during the coming years. Lekkerland is also planning to expand the service range for its customers in order to offer them even more profitable opportunities for growth.

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