May the 2nd, 2023 - The well known and wildly successful Croatian Atlantic Group (Grupa) headed by Emil Tedeschi has experienced rapid revenue growth. The plan is for that to continue.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, during the first quarter of 2023, the Croatian Atlantic Group recorded sales revenue in the enormous amount of 215.6 million euros, which represents a growth of 16.8 percent compared to the same period last year. Under the influence of significant price increases in a wide range of business activities, profit before interest, taxes and depreciation (EBITDA) decreased by 12.2 percent and amounted to 20.9 million euros, while net profit in the first three months of this year decreased by 20.4 percent and amounts to 9.6 million euros.

"In the first quarter of 2023, the Croatian Atlantic Group achieved strong sales growth in all business and distribution areas and across all of the major markets in which it operates. The prices of raw materials and packaging materials, logistics and other services and energy are still at high levels, which, as we announced, affected profitability, and the drop in profitability was partially mitigated by optimising internal resources and increasing product sales prices. With the strength of our brands and our people, operational efficiency and with investments in digitisation, modernisation and business sustainability, we're ready for further growth,'' said the President of the Management Board of the Atlantic Group, Emil Tedeschi.

The largest growth of 34.0 percent was achieved by the Strategic Business Area (SBA) Sweet and Savory, whose leading brands are Smoki and Najlepse zelje (The most beautiful wishes), under the influence of assortment optimisation, increased marketing activities and a better price position of products compared to the competition. This area is followed by SPP Pice (Drinks) with the leading brand being Cedevita and growth standing at 23.8 percent, and SPP Kava (Coffee) with the brands Barcaffe and Grand coffee, and growth of 14.5 percent. Among the distribution areas, neighbouring Serbia leads the way with growth of 24.0 percent and Croatia has experienced growth of 20.0 percent.

When it comes to the Croatian Atlantic Group's total sales, principal brands account for 27.1 percent, Farmacia accounts for 9.4 percent, while its own brands account for 63.5 percent of sales revenue. With a share of 20.1 percent in total sales revenue, coffee stands out as the largest single category of all.

Cooperation with Podravka

Back at the end of March this year, the Croatian Atlantic Group and the well known Podravka Group agreed on cooperation across the pond in the United States of America and much closer to home in nearby Austria. The two large domestic companies introduced a unique practice of mutual export support, which implies that the Atlantic Group's distribution company in Austria will provide support for the placement of Podravka's products on the Austrian market, and at the same time, Podravka will market Atlantic's products on the US market through its company located over in the USA. The goal of this cooperation is to maximise mutual synergies by strengthening the product placement of both companies and raising the recognition of their brands, using their already very well developed business network and the enviable market positions that Atlantic and Podravka have on these markets.

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May the 27th, 2022 - Croatian soldiers are set to be given so-called ''super sweets'' from Emil Tedechi's wildly successful company, Atlanric Group (Grupa), in their survival kits.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Brnic writes, Croatian soldiers will once again have packets of the only Croatian-made ''compressed sweets'' that can replace meals in extraordinary circumstances.

The Ministry of Defense announced that a contract with the Atlantic Group and as such Cedevita, worth 607,000 kuna, had now been concluded. The procurement of these “energy bombs” which work to keep the body functioning when food isn't available was carried out through a negotiated procedure without prior publication, in accordance with the Public Procurement Regulation in the field of defense and security.

Such a procedure has been justified by the fact that it is the only such product, in the development of which, in addition to the Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology and Atlantic, the Croatian Ministry of Defense itself actually participated.

Croatian soldiers have been using these compressed super sweets for ten years now, and the packages are intended for six days of human survival. As a rule, they are used by special forces, pilots, sailors and soldiers when on missions.

One packet of these super sweets every day is enough for a soldier to avoid a hypoglycemic attack when in extreme situations. The current regulations also prescribe the use of these meal replacement sweets as an energy supplement in the regular diet of Croatian soldiers, but the Ministry of Defense explained that they are not usually used in regular activities, but they must be in stock to be made immediately available for any given time they might well be needed.

The shelf life of these Atlantic Group-made compressed sweets is an impressive four years. Here in Croatia, Atlantic Group is the only company to produce this form of food, and although the company counts on breaking their sweets into the so-called Survival ration packages of other NATO armies around thw world, it is, as it turns out, still a very difficult market to try and conquer.

For more, make sure to check out Made in Croatia.

ZAGREB, 8 April, 2021 - The Zagreb Stock Exchange (ZSE) indices on Thursday continued rising and the stock market saw a turnover of HRK 12.5 million, of which HRK 6.2 million was generated by a block transaction with Atlantic Group shares.

The Crobex rose by 0.35% to 1,887.88 points and the Crobex10 by 0.21% to 1,185.88 points.

The main indices rose for the second consecutive day, reaching their new highest levels since the end of February 2020.

Regular trading amounted to HRK 6.3 million, 2.8 million more than on Wednesday.

Another 6.2 million was generated in a block transaction with Atlantic Group shares.

Only the HT telecom operator turned over more than one million kuna in regular trading, around 1.02 million, with the price of its shares falling by 0.26% to HRK 193.

(€1 = HRK 7.567065)

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March the 24th, 2021 - The Croatian Gideon Brothers and the Alantic Group (Atlantic Grupa) have come together to launch a large product testing and development project.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the Croatian Gideon Brothers and the Atlantic Group are well known, highly successful companies and the pair coming together is likely to yield impressive results. The two companies have launched a project to develop an intelligent modular platform for process management in logistics, including a special solution for integrating autonomous mobile robots into a warehouse management system (WMS).

The central part of this research and development project are the advanced robots of the Croatian company Gideon Brothers, which will be directly connected to the WMS system of the Atlantic Group in its logistics and distribution centre in Velika Gorica near Zagreb. The move will serve as a testing ground for new product development and further testing.

As part of the large project, the Croatian Gideon Brothers will work on the development of the so-called "swarm" way of using robots, in which robots reach users in certain storage areas by following orders generated directly from the WMS system. Users will be able to read, on an integrated screen that the robots are equipped with, which products from a particular zone must be placed on the robot in order to complete a particular order.

One of the key objectives of the project is to increase the efficiency and flow of logistics operations to mitigate the risk of labour shortages, especially in periods of high demand.

"Humans are the main creators of value when it comes to logistics operations and that will certainly not change at any point in the foreseeable future. The close collaboration of humans and their robotic helpers is a way in which we can strengthen supply chains in the post-COVID-19 era and help the economy alleviate the pressure of labuor shortages and provide resources for growth. Our robots are here to help,'' said Matija Kopic, CEO and co-founder of Gideon Brothers.

"We're witnessing a robot revolution across various industries, accompanied by changes in attitudes. They're no longer a threat to the business or existence of (human) workers, but experience has shown that they can be a useful tool, working together with people to make the role of the human employees easier, more fulfilling and more productive. With this new solution and the complete integration of robots into our logistics operations, we want not only to alleviate any labour shortages, but also to meet increasingly complex market and consumer demands while maintaining business stability and profitability,'' added Darija Pizent, the Atlantic Group's supply chain management director.

Given the great potential of the new solution, the two successful Croatian companies applied for co-financing from the European Structural and Investment Fund - Increasing the development of new products and services arising from research and development activities - Phase II, together with their academic partner, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Zagreb.

The Croatian Gideon Brothers company is one of the pioneers in the field of autonomous navigation for mobile robots. Their impressive technology is based on advanced, human-like 3D visual perception, which allows robots to recognise various objects and understand what surrounds them, making it easier to adapt to their environment and spot obstacles when working safely in close contact with human workers.

Robots and vehicles powered by Gideon Brothers' technology currently work in warehouses and plants of some of the largest Croatian, European and global companies in the manufacturing, logistics and retail sectors.

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ZAGREB, April 28, 2020 - Atlantic Grupa generated a 10.6% increase in profit in the first quarter of 2020 compared with the same period in 2019 despite restrictions to stem the spread of the coronavirus epidemic, the food and distribution company says in its financial statement.

The company's profit increased to HRK 89.3 million, and sales revenue rose by 12.2% to HRK 1.28 billion. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) reached HRK 121.3 million, an increase of 15.4% compared with the the first quarter of 2019.

CEO Emil Tedeschi said they believe the stable financial position, the historically best results in 2019, the unquestionable commitment of the company's employees and the strength of its brands will help them weather this crisis with minimal negative consequences.

The company noted that it has become involved in the fight against the coronavirus crisis in all regional markets in which it operates, donating HRK 28 million to healthcare institutions and local crisis management teams.

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ZAGREB, February 27, 2020 - Atlantic Grupa generated HRK 5.43 billion in sales revenue in 2019, an increase of 3.4% on the year, while net profit rose by 59.8% to HRK 390.4 million, the food company said in a financial statement on Thursday.

Operating profit (EBIT) in 2019 amounted to HRK 500.4 million, an increase of 36.4% compared with 2018.

Without one-off items and changes in accounting standards based on comparison, operating profit increased by 13.1% and net profit was up by 28.9%, the company said.

"Atlantic Grupa concluded 2109 with the historically highest revenue and profit. The year was exceptionally successful for us and we saw the year end as a stable, financial prosperous and low indebted company with an empowered management and a clear vision for the future," the company's CEO Emil Tedeschi said.

The increase in sales was mainly driven by the strategic business areas "Savoury Spreads", with a 7.7% growth, and "Beverages", with a 5.2% growth. With HRK 1.13 billion in sales and a 20.9% share in total revenues, "Coffee" stood out as the largest individual category.

All markets recorded growth in distribution operations, and the most significant growth was recorded on the Croatian market, of 8.2%, followed by increased sales in Slovenia, of 3.7%.

Own brands accounted for 64.1% of the total sales, the brands of the principals in distribution accounted for 27.5%, and the Farmacia pharmacy chain participated with 8.3%.

More business news can be found in the dedicated section.

Croatia's Best Employer Brand Awards 2019 was a complete success for Atlantic Group, who managed to win five awards, including the Grand Prix award and the employer branding award. 

Atlantic Group's senior employer branding and culture specialist, Tina Miličić, gave an interview, in which she tried to explain the organization of work and how the employer branding activities are performed within the Group. Ms. Miličić initially said that they've been working on employer branding within the Group for the past five years, initiated by Ivana Đorđević with most of the initiatives directed towards the current employers. That strategy led to the high involvement of the workers and reduced unwanted fluctuations and non-attendance at work since the company has started. 

When asked what has changed since the early days of employer branding in Atlantic, she says that it's a lot. Once the initial enthusiasm wore down, as it usually does, and just when things were starting to slow down, the company underwent extensive internal reconstruction. One of the projects of that process allowed them to further the employer branding tactics at the highest level within the company. Ms. Miličić was stationed in Belgrade, working in two departments, and it all took a lot of energy. Then, when it was time for her to return from Belgrade she just wanted to continue working on serious employer branding. In her current role, she reports to both the HR and Corporate communications, as she realized that a significant level of synergy is needed for that role to be successful. She highlights the example of having to fill 90 positions in Serbia, quickly and at a tight budget, and receiving 2400 applications and completing the project in less than three weeks. And she adds that the reason for that success was not having done lovely visuals and advertising, instead it is the fact that the company took the comments to previous similar campaigns seriously and worked hard to fulfill the expectations of the current employees. 

Within the company, the situation is such that promoting the topic of employer branding towards the higher management is unnecessary, as the market has made sure everybody understands the importance of the principle. These days, the employee can define what they want from the company, and the company needs to adjust to those desires, and that's not easy. So, while continually improving the salaries, benefits, and other conditions for the employees, the company needs to stay profitable - which makes it more efficient. 

Ms. Miličić doesn't see working on numerous markets as a particular challenge when it comes to employer branding, as the Atlantic Group is used to working on many markets in all aspects. And so it's not out of the ordinary that in Slovenia the topics that are discussed are LGBT certification and beehives in the yard of the company building. At the same time, in Macedonia, they need to communicate the most elementary things, such as a regular and guaranteed paycheck. The importance of employer branding for a company such as Atlantic Group can't be denied, and almost all big companies understand the importance of this concept for their success. That leads the company to start thinking in more specific terms, and Ms. Miličić states that the critical thing they understand now is that Atlantic Group is not right for everyone, nor is everyone right for the Atlantic Group. The relationship between the company and the employer is just as intimate as any close relationship you have in your life, and you need to feel like you fit in somewhere. The company wants employers to feel comfortable in the company, as that is the only way for them to realize their full potential. That's why, during the selection process, they put a lot of stock into the so-called Cultural Fit, determining how much someone would fit in with the culture and the values of the company. It's not about hiring the greatest expert, but the expert who'd enjoy working in the Atlantic Group.  

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ZAGREB, December 20, 2019 - Croatia's leading food and beverages producer, Atlantic Grupa, has decided to enter into a strategic partnership with the Vivas cafes chain which includes almost 300 coffee shops and bars, the Zagreb-headquartered group said in a press release on Friday.

"The collaboration is a part of Atlantic’s well-defined strategy to take a leading position in the Croatian coffee market and achieve expansion in the growing segment of out of home consumption," reads the press release.

In this way, Atlantic significantly strengthened the espresso segment, which is expected to generate an additional eight million kuna in sales revenue thanks to the newly-established cooperation with Vivas led by former national football player, Dario Šimić.

Atlantic produces 24,000 tonnes of cofffee a year.

"With approximately 24 thousand tonnes of coffee produced annually, the Atlantic Group is the leading coffee producer in the region," said Mate Štetić, the new General Manager of the SBU Coffee in Atlantic Group.

"We are the leading company in the Serbian market with our brand Grand kafa, the undisputed leader in Slovenia with the brand Barcaffe and an ambitious contender for the leading position in the Croatian market, where our market share has increased from 4 to the current 15.5 percent since the Atlantic's acquisition of Droga Kolinska in 2010. With a share of almost 21 percent in total revenue, coffee is the largest individual business unit in Atlantic Grupa and certainly one of the strategically most important units for future business development," Štetić was quoted as saying.

More news about Atlantic Group can be found in the Business section.

ZAGREB, July 30, 2019 - Atlantic Grupa generated an operating profit of 275.8 million kuna in the first half of 2019, an increase of 11.3% over the same period in 2018, while net profit after minority interests rose by 13.9% to 213.5 million kuna, the food company said in a financial statement on Tuesday.

Sales revenue was 2.57 billion kuna, up 3.5% from last year.

The group's Vice President for Finance, Zoran Stanković, said that a special focus had been placed on brand management and human resources.

All this has certainly contributed to the trust placed in us by the financial community, as a result of which we recorded a record high value of our share in the first half of the year, he said.

The increase in sales was mainly driven by the strategic business areas "Savoury Spreads", with 9.7% growth, and "Beverages", with 3.5% growth. With HRK 532.7 million in sales and a 20.7 percent share in total revenues, "Coffee" stood out as the largest individual category.

All markets recorded growth in distribution operations, and the most significant growth was recorded by the Croatian market, of 11.8%.

Own brands accounted for 65.4% of the total sales, the brands of the principals in distribution accounted for 26.1%, and the Farmacia pharmacy chain participated with 8.5%.

More news about Atlantic Grupa can be found in the Business section.

Atlantic Group has sold its sports and functional nutrition business Genuport from Germany, this includes brands such as Multipower, Champ and Multaben, which is just a continuation of selling its non-strategic operations, reported Atlantic on Tuesday, reports Agrobiz on April 2, 2019.

Genuport is a long-time partner of Atlantic in the distribution of sports and active nutrition products. The divested business operations accounted for 133.7 million in revenue in 2018, accounting for 2.5 per cent of the total income of Atlantic Group, the statement said.

The conclusion of the sales agreement is a continuation of the corporate strategy of disinvestment of non-strategic business operations. The drive has already included the sale of production facilities for sports and active nutrition to Aminolabs from Belgium, Atlantic announced. The actual price of the transaction has not been disclosed.

Atlantic Group’s Vice President for Corporate Activities Neven Vranković points out that Genuport, as the former distributor, is well aware of the market and potentials of the brands that are part of the segment of sports and active nutrition, making it a logical choice for a partner in this process.

"We believe that Genuport will be focused and committed to continuing to develop brands with long-standing tradition. We expect it will use the knowledge in distribution it has to be even better positioned in this fast-growing market segment," Vranković said.

As explained in the statement, Multipower has been a well-known brand for over 40 years and is one of the European leaders in the sports and active diet market, known for its high-quality protein products and dietary supplements for athletes and active users. It was part of the Atlantic Group system since 2005, together with the accompanying brands Champ and Multaben, well-known to the German and European consumers.

Genuport is one of the leading German distribution companies with a long reference list of partner companies such as Wander, Mondelez, Snyder's Lance, Weetabix and many others, according to the statement.

More news on the Atlantic Group can be found in the Business section.

Translated from Agrobiz.hr.