Anora: Main wine competitor Viva Wine reports solid Q1 and acquisition in the Netherlands

Translation: Original published in Finnish on 5/15/2025 at 2:16 pm EEST.

Viva Wine, the main competitor of Anora's Wine segment, announced its Q1 result on Thursday. Although the timing of Easter weighed on Viva's performance as well, the company continued to gain market share in the Nordic countries. Its profitability improved slightly year-on-year, despite lower sales due to the timing of Easter. Compared to Anora’s Wine segment, Viva’s performance has been better for a longer time and Viva's revenue developed slightly better in Q1 as well, with clearly better profitability than Anora's Wine segment.

Easter dented Viva's Q1, but market shares continued to rise

Viva Wine's Nordics segment is very similar to Anora's Wine segment, although Anora has operations e.g. in Denmark while Viva does not. Due to the timing of Easter, Viva's volumes fell by 7%, though less than the market, meaning that Viva's market shares continued to rise and again reached their highest level ever (23% in the Nordic monopoly chains combined). Viva's revenue fell by 1% from the comparison period, while Anora's fell by 2%. In this respect, the difference was much smaller than in previous quarters.

Despite lower volumes and revenue, Viva slightly improved its profitability from the comparison period, supported by last year's price increases and the relatively modest level of the comparison period. Viva Nordics segment's adjusted EBITA margin was 7.1% (6.5% in the comparison period), compared to the company's target of 10-12% (group targets will be updated following the recent acquisition). Profitability was weaker than in previous quarters, affected of course by lower revenue due to the timing of Easter, but also by an increase in fixed costs, which the company anticipated already at the beginning of the year.

Anora's Wine segment's EBITDA margin development is much more volatile than Viva's, and Anora's performance was weak in Q1. However, the gross margin of Anora's Wine segment increased in Q1 from the comparison period, as did Viva’s, so the volatility seems to be due to the timing/periodization of fixed costs. Viva's margin remains better than Anora's, even when considering the last 12 months.

Despite the confusing effect of Easter on the early-year figures, Viva commented that demand was slightly weaker than expected due to consumer caution. Nevertheless, the company does not believe that there has been any significant change. Anora expects steady volume development and appreciation of the market this year, which we believe sounds optimistic after the weak progress in the first months of the year. The market is of course partly different, with Viva talking about wines and Anora of both wines and spirits and also including Denmark. In addition, Anora also expects its market shares to improve. Regarding margins, Viva expects its gross margin to remain strong, supported by a stronger Swedish krona towards the end of the year. We also view this as positive for Anora's margins.

Viva announced acquisition in the Netherlands

In connection with its Q1 result, Viva Wine also announced a very significant acquisition. The company is acquiring Delta Wines in the Netherlands, the Dutch market leader in wines that is also active in a few other countries. The deal will increase Viva's revenue by around 50%. Delta Wines has small operations in Norway and Finland, but we do not believe that this will materially change Viva's market position in the Nordic countries. However, the acquisition will clearly increase Viva's size, allowing for more efficient sourcing and cross-selling between countries, for example. Over time, this could also strengthen Viva's operations in the Nordic countries, making it an even stronger competitor to Anora. It is also worth noting that Delta Wines' profitability is somewhat lower than Viva's, and the company stated that companies operating in open markets typically have lower profitability. Monopoly markets (Finland, Sweden, Norway) are therefore good markets for wine companies in terms of profitability.