Campari profits fall but group upgrades full-year margin outlook

Davide Campari-Milano reported a decline in first-half profits despite delivering organic sales growth and improving underlying earnings, according to The Drinks Business. The apparent contradiction points to cost pressures and one-off items weighing on the bottom line even as the core business performed better on a like-for-like basis.

Notably, the group upgraded its full-year margin outlook, citing a more favourable tariff environment and continued progress in streamlining its portfolio. That upgrade suggests management sees the operating backdrop improving in the second half, particularly on the trade policy front that has weighed on spirits exporters over recent quarters. Portfolio streamlining, typically meaning divesting or deprioritising smaller, lower-margin brands to focus resources on core names such as Aperol and Campari, is a lever many spirits groups have leaned on as premiumisation slows and cost discipline becomes more important.

The result fits a wider pattern in spirits this year, where volume growth has been harder to find and companies are relying on mix, pricing and cost control to protect margins. For an industry that built a decade of growth on premiumisation and aspirational drinking occasions, a shift toward tighter portfolio management signals that groups are bracing for a longer period of subdued demand. What to watch is whether the improved tariff backdrop holds, and whether Campari's streamlining efforts translate into a genuine margin recovery in the second half rather than a one-off adjustment.

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