Italian coffee maker Lavazza sees “challenging” 2022 after strong 2021

MILAN (Reuters) -Italian coffee maker Lavazza said on Wednesday it expected a difficult 2022 due to raw material price rises after reporting a strong increase in profits for 2021.

The family-owned company said it had decided to suspend all its activities in Russia on March 10, adding it had also had to temporarily halt distribution in Ukraine.

Lavazza said it would have to tackle “an extremely complex and challenging” 2022, due to the rise in the prices of raw materials.

“First and foremost green coffee, but also packaging, energy, logistics – and the risks deriving from the dramatic current geopolitical situation,” Chief Executive Antonio Baravalle said.

The price increases were mainly due to global supply chain issues and damage caused by weather events, the Turin-based group added.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) came in at 312 million euros ($338 million) in 2021, up 23.3% on 2020.

Revenues increased 11% to 2.3 billion euros last year, also thanks to a recovery in the “out of home” channel after the slowdown caused by the COVID-19 epidemic, when lockdowns kept people at home.($1 = 0.9233 euros)

(Reporting by Cristina Carlevaro, editing by Jane Merriman and Alistair Bell)