In the first three months of 2022, major Croatian consumer goods company Atlantic Grupa reported a 90.6 million kuna (€12 million) net profit, which is 7.2 percent up year-on-year, the company announced in a press release on Thursday.

Total sales increased by 11.3 percent to 1.4 billion kuna (€185 million) and earnings before taxes by 7.1 percent to 179.8 million kuna (€24 million).

“The beginning of the year was marked by the outbreak of war in Ukraine. However, due to the sale of our brand of baby food Bebi in 2021 Atlantic Grupa had significantly reduced its exposure in Russia and other CIS (post-Soviet) markets, so the conflict did not directly cause any significant impact on the company’s operations,” Atlantic Grupa said.

In September 2020 Atlantic Grupa sold the Bebi portfolio of baby food products to the Belgrade-based Nelt Grupa, for an undisclosed sum. Largely present in the Russian market, the brand had a revenue of €11 million in 2019. The factory which produced Bebi products, in Mirna in central Slovenia, was not part of the deal, and it too was later sold to the Austrian company Gittis Naturprodukte which specializes in cereals and baby food, in 2021, for an undisclosed sum.

Atlantic Grupa, which employs more than 5,000 people in 8 countries, is one of the largest food companies in the region, best known for their consumer brands such as coffee brand Barcaffe, drink mix Cedevita, soft drink Cockta, snack food Smoki, as well as food supplements under the Dietpharm brand. They own 16 factories across the region and they also have a large distribution business supplying the local retail markets with a number of international brands such as Red Bull, Mars, Unilever, Nivea, Johnson & Johnson, and many others.

In the Q1 2022 the company’s distribution arm saw largest growth in Slovenia, at 12.1 percent growth in terms of revenues. Croatia followed with 11.3 percent, and Serbia with 10.7 percent.

(€1 = 7.55 kuna)