Viva Wine Group AB

Welcome to Viva Wine Group earnings call for Q2 2026. For the first part of the conference call, the participants will be in listen-only mode. During the questions and answers session, participants are able to ask questions by dialing pound key 5 on their telephone keypad. Now I will hand the conference over to CEO Emil Solnez and CFO and Deputy CEO Lynn Gavir. Please go ahead.

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to our Q2 2026 presentation. My name is Emil Salnes, and I will, together with our CFO and Deputy CEO, Linn Gjævert, present today. This is today's agenda, and before we move on to the quarterly update on financials, I will hand over to Linn.

Thank you, Emil. I would like to start with an update about the ongoing bid process. On the 29th of June, Riesling Ventures announced a public takeover offer to the shareholders of Viva Wine Group. In connection with this, the independent bid committee of Viva Wine Group announced that they recommend the offer. The acceptance period is currently ongoing and is ending on the 28th of August. In this call, we will only focus on the quarterly results and no questions will be answered regarding the bid or the process.

So now let's move on to the Q2 update and our performance summary. Looking at Q2, we reported an increase in net sales of 21%. This growth was driven by our latest acquisitions, Delta Wines and Alpha Brands. Organic growth was minus 3.7% in the quarter, with sales negatively impacted by the timing of Easter and by geopolitical uncertainty which weakened the consumer sentiment in our markets. Adjusted EBITDA increased year on year, mainly due to the latest acquisitions, with an EBITDA margin of 6.7%. In the quarter, we continue to deliver strong operating cash flow. Now, let's look in more detail on the financial performance. I will hand over back to Lynne.

So looking at net sales, the growth in net sales of 21% is mainly driven by the acquisition of Delta wines and Alpha brands. As Emil mentioned, the organic growth of minus 3.7% was affected by the timing of Easter and by a weak consumer sentiment. In our B2B segment, we continue to be the clear number one in the Nordics and both Delta wines and Alpha brands performed well. BTC was affected by low consumer sentiment. Adjusted EBITDA increased versus last year, mainly as a result of the latest acquisitions. Higher net sales and improved gross margin percent is partly offset by higher OPEX. The adjusted EBITDA margin reached 6.7% in the quarter. The cash flow from operating activities was strong and in line with our operating performance. Working capital increased in Q2, driven by seasonal effects according to plan. Dividends is paid in two installments. The first one was paid during Q2 and the next is scheduled for November, pending the outcome of the bid process. The positive effect from financing activities mainly reflects changes in our financing structure during the quarter, the use of bank overdrafts and repayments of term loans according to plan. Our networking capital to net sales continue to develop well and reach 9.0 in the quarter. Very strong. We ended the quarter with a net debt to EBITDA ratio of 2.6. So now over to performance by segments. Total net sales in our B2B segment increased with 25% in the quarter. And the increase versus last year is mainly driven by the acquisition of Delta wines and Alpha brands. Our market share in the Nordic monopoly markets remained stable at a high level compared to the same quarter previous year. This confirms our position as the market leader in wine. The organic growth of minus 4% was affected by the timing of Eastern and a low consumer sentiment. The gross margin in B2B was stronger than in the same quarter previous year, despite increased freight costs and the consolidation of Delta Wines. The gross margin was supported by positive currency effects, price adjustments and product mix. The adjusted EBITDA margin reached 7.6% in the quarter. The underlying business strengthened its EBITDA margin compared to last year. In the B2C segment, net sales decreased and organic growth was negative with 1.3% due to low consumer sentiment. We continue to build on our customer base and the total number of active customers increased year on year. Numbers of orders also increased and was driven by both new and existing customers. Adjusted EBITDA decreased versus last year, primarily driven by increased investments in marketing to attract new customers. The adjusted EBITDA margin of 3.7% was therefore down from last year. Before the Q&A session, I will hand over to Emil for his final remarks and summary of this quarter.

To summarize, the quarter's growth was driven by acquisitions. Delta Wines and Alpha Brands both continued to perform well. We once again confirmed our position as market leaders in wine in the Nordic monopoly markets, as our market share remained stable at a high level. I'm also happy to say that in June, the first month in which Delta Wines was fully integrated, the company contributed positively to organic growth. In the B2C segment, the lower consumer sentiment affected the whole market, but our estimation is that we continue to outperform the market. We have a strong position to build on. Even with an uncertain world around us, I'm generally optimistic about where we're headed. We're executing on our strategy with discipline. We have a business model that's proven itself over time, and we keep optimizing how we operate. Together, these are the key factors that will keep driving our growth and our results. And with that, it's now time for the Q&A session.

If you wish to ask a question, please dial pound key 5 on your telephone keypad. To enter the queue, if you wish to withdraw your question, please dial pound key 6 on your telephone keypad. The next question comes from Nicholas Elmhammer from Carlsquare. Please go ahead.

Yes, hello. Thank you for the presentation. I have a question regarding organic growth in the Nordics. Do you have an estimate of the market growth during Q2?

For the market? For the quarter, the market is down with approximately 4% for the market in the Nordics.

Okay, given the stable market and the price increases, are you seeing consumers trading down, providing a little bit of a growth headwind perhaps?

Well, looking at the organic growth, if we look at April and May, that was negative for the market and for us. And that was a lot due to the Eastern. Looking at June, that was a stronger month for both the market and for us. Actually, we had an organic growth in June. So that affects the total organic growth for the quarter. And as Emil mentioned, also we had organic growth for the first time from Delta Wine since that's included in organic growth from June. And looking at the year estimate, if we would do an estimate of the organic growth for the market, I would say that year-to-date number is a good estimate.

Okay, thank you. That's clear. You have, if I calculate correctly, you have a good development for the margin in the Nordics. However, it seems a bit lower compared to last year. Can you perhaps comment on the divergence in the margin development of these different units?

Yes. Looking at the gross margins, as you say, the underlying business has strengthened itself. I think last quarter we said that it was over 1% strengthened compared to last year, and that has continued. However, as mentioned in last report, we saw pressures from higher freight costs that mainly was concentrated to Europe. So that was direct effects. However, we don't expect the gross margins for Delta wines to be that much lower for full year, but some effects from the negative freight costs. And as mentioned last time we reported to the market, I would say that we expect the negative effects of 0.3% for the full year. And we have already had effects and that will also keep rolling out some effect as we go forward. But strengthened in the Nordics, stable in B2C and in Europe a bit pressured by the freight costs.

Okay, thank you. OPEX to sales somewhat above previous guidance for the full gear levels at least. Could you perhaps update your full gear guidance?

Yes, of course. In this quarter, also worth mentioning that we have some one-time effects related to the bid process, but that's specified in adjustments. So that's one-time effect. But looking at the full year, we keep our guidance of 11 to 10% compared to net sales. And we have season 11 to 12%. We keep our recommendation, our guidance of that. And this is a quarter where we have higher OPEX, but next quarter we expect lower OPEX. And that's according to the seasonal pattern of the year. But 11 to 12%, the guidance is the same.

Thank you. That's all from me. I appreciate your answers.

Thank you.

There are no more questions at this time, so I hand the conference back to the speakers for any written questions and closing comments.

And this time around, there are no written questions or comments. So with that, we conclude today's session and thank you all for today.

Thank you.