The brand’s sales revolve around EUR16 million, according with ZF calculations based on company data.
In 2012, the company posted revenue of EUR161 million, with these being the latest financial figures reported by Nestle Romania. “The beverages segment, namely Nescafe, accounts for 18% in the company’s revenue, Maggi is the second largest brand in the portfolio and means 17% in revenue, while confectionery accounts for 16%,” stated Herve de Froment, general manager of the company.
JOE plant in Timisoara was set up around 20 years ago by Romanian entrepreneur Florentin Banu and was taken over by Switzerland’s Nestle in 2001, 6 years after it entered the Romanian market.
While wafers are produced in Romania, JOE ice-cream is manufactured in a unit the group owns in Bulgaria. The company is not mulling moving ice-cream production to Romania.
Nestle entered the Romanian market in 1995 and now has around 1,000 employees in Bucharest and Timisoara. In its production unit, the Swiss group manufactures Nescafe coffee, JOE wafer brand, as well as other wafer brands destined to exports, such as Balaton, which goes exclusively to Hungary.
“Around 40% of the plant’s output goes to 12 countries such as the Netherlands, Hungary, Austria, Bulgaria or Israel. Around 25% of wafers manufactured in the plant go abroad,” said the company’s representatives, who also specified JOE is exclusively destined to the domestic market.
Since it acquired the plant, Nestle has invested over EUR10 million in it, a sum that does not include the acquisition. The plant has around 440 employees and an area of around 21,000 square meters.
The plant has a production capacity of above 12,000 tons annually. It produces 90 million wafers per annum.
The company’s general manager in 2013 told ZF the company would make a “serious” investment in the production unit of Timisoara, but did not specify the sum. The company’s representatives said an investment aimed at production line continuity would be operated in late 2014.
De Froment did not disclose the company’s 2013 revenue and previously said revenue was flat from 2012. For 2014, Nestle head says the trend of ice-cream consumption will also reflect in revenue.
“This year is likely to be much better than last year, but it depends a lot on the weather. Around 15% of the company’s revenue come from ice-cream and this product can make the difference this year. 2013 was not quite good for the ice-cream market”.
The manager says Nestle Romania remained in the black last year, after having ended 2012 with gains of EUR1.2 million.
“Trends on the market are mixed, the coffee market is starting to rebound, we hope the ice-cream market will regain health, too,” said Herve de Froment.
(English version by Catalina Apostoiu)