Mediobanca presents its focus on the wine industry

The Mediobanca Research Area has published its annual report on the Italian and international wine sector, analysing the aggregate data for the 2013-17 period for the 168 leading Italian companies operating in this sector, which in 2017 turned over more than €25m. To complement the earnings/financial data, a series of interviews have been conducted with the companies themselves, in order to estimate the pre-closing figures for 2018, the sales figures for 2019, and to get some idea of issues regarding the companies’ commercial structure and corporate governance. The focus also analyses the aggregate data for the fourteen leading international companies in the last five years, and reviews the global share price index of listed wine producers from 2001 to the present day.

The Italian companies delivered an excellent 2018 performance in terms of sales, which grew appreciably (up 7.5% year-on-year), as a result of a good performance in exports (up 5.3%) and due to the sizeable contribution from domestic sales (which rose by 9.9%). Cantine Riunite- confirmed its leadership position by total sales, with a top line of €615m (up 3.1% on 2017), followed by Caviro (€330m, up 8.6%), and the best of the non-co-operatives Antinori (€230m, up 4.5%). A good ten companies delivered double-digit growth in their 2018 revenues, and the operators are optimistic about sales for 2019.

There was also growth in employment levels (up 3.7%) and investments (up 25.9%), due in particular to the non-spumante manufacturers, which posted an increase of 30.4%. The wine companies are also solid: in 2017, in 2017, as many as 70% of the wine-makers qualified as investment grade. The jewels in the crown of the Italian wine-making industry were once again the Veneto-, Piedmont- and Tuscan-based firms. The aggregate of the fourteen largest listed international producers also delivered growth.

The full survey is available for download from website https://www.mbres.it/.