Stability and strategic change at Zwack Unicum

Growth amidst challenges

Zwack Unicum Plc. held its annual general meeting on June 25, 2025, where shareholders approved the financial report for the 2024–2025 business year and plans for the following year. The business environment of the past year was far from favorable: although domestic premium spirits consumption had shown growth in previous years, demand fell in 2024 due to the decline in real wages. According to store data, although the volume of the entire Hungarian spirits market decreased by 2.9%, it still increased by 1.4% in value.

Zwack, on the other hand, recorded a slight increase in volume of 0.3% and a 6% increase in value in retail channels – primarily due to the strengthening of the Unicum and Kalumba brands.

New flavors and new markets

The sales revenue of premium products increased by 10.4%, while quality products stagnated. The company’s new products also contributed to the success: at the end of 2024, Unicum Orange Bitter was introduced – for now only at gastronomic partners – and the exclusive Unicum Trezor XO. The latter proved so popular that the entire annual stock was sold out in a few days.

The company also reported positive developments on the export front: sales of HUF 2.5 billion were achieved, an increase of 15%. TV campaigns were run in key markets – Italy, Germany, Romania and Slovakia – which increased brand awareness and turnover.

In the light of the numbers

Zwack’s gross sales were HUF 38.8 billion (an increase of 5%), while its net sales rose to HUF 24.1 billion (an increase of 6.9%). Operating profit was HUF 3.58 billion, while profit after tax was HUF 2.99 billion – 2.9% higher than the base year.

At the same time, the company faced a volume decline in the fourth quarter, which was exacerbated by the delayed Easter season and higher-than-expected inflation. Management implemented a 4.7% price increase from January, partly due to the rising excise tax and the weakening forint exchange rate.

Significant wage increase and bonuses

Personnel expenses increased by 17.3%, partly due to the 12% wage increase, as well as payments related to the departure of managers and the year-end bonuses for manual workers. As part of the latter, they received an extraordinary bonus of 100,000 forints due to the peak production load at the end of the year.

Marketing expenses also increased significantly (474 ​​million forints), especially with regard to the introduction of new products and campaigns running in export markets. The mandatory redemption system (DRS) and the EPR fee caused a total of 124 million forints of additional costs.

Stable dividend policy, new directors

The general meeting approved the payment of a dividend of HUF 1,500 per share, which represents a total payment of HUF 3.052 billion. They also decided to appoint new managers: Csaba Belovai and György Guttengeber to the Board of Directors, Frank Odzuck to the Supervisory Board, while Dr. Hubertine Underberg-Ruder was appointed to the Audit Committee. The General Meeting thanked the departing members – including István Salgó and Tibor Dörnyei.

2025–2026: optimism with cautious planning

Zwack’s management is calculating a net sales growth of 6.8% and a profit after tax of nearly HUF 3 billion for the 2025–2026 business year. The plans focus on the expansion of domestic consumption, the increase in real wages and the introduction of Unicum Orange Bitter, which is extended beyond gastronomy. The export strategy continues, with a special emphasis on Italy, Slovakia, Romania and Germany, where not only advertising campaigns but also consumer research was conducted to communicate the brand more effectively.

Although the stagnation of raw material prices is encouraging, due to the weakening forint, the increase in operating costs and regulatory uncertainties, Zwack continues to pursue cautious financial planning. As part of this, a new wage increase of 8% was implemented in response to the minimum wage increase, while the increase in marketing expenses will this time be close to inflation-tracking.