Beer Group President and Anadolu Efes CEO Can Çaka’s Comments
I am extremely happy to report very strong results in such a challenging year. I am also grateful for our people for their ability to adapt themselves to the changing operating environment to ensure business continuity. These robust results are the testimony of their dedication and hard work where the circumstances were more challenging than ever. Throughout the year, our strategy was clear. Ensuring health and well-being of our employees has always been our first priority. Secondly, we have ensured flawless flow of operations to provide uninterrupted service to our customers. We have also amplified our support for our communities as we went through these difficult times together.” commented Mr. Can Çaka, Beer Group President and Anadolu Efes CEO.
From the very beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, we prioritized people, took a multi-stakeholder approach and implemented it in order to continue creating value in line with our business priorities. Our winning product portfolio, leading positions in our operating markets, the geographical diversity of our operations and our commitment to financial discipline were the most important pillars of our strategy.
In order to mitigate the impact of the measures taken due to pandemic as well as the slowdown in the economic activity in respective markets, we reduced our expenses significantly, took necessary actions in working capital management and worked through multiple scenarios while putting financial discipline at the core of our focus. I am very glad to have finished 2020 with a strong balance sheet and a healthy liquidity position. As a result of our commitment to financial discipline and the measures we have taken, our financial performance and indebtedness ratio is comparable to or better than pre-pandemic period. The cost and spending optimization initiatives together with our extended Zero Based Spending program yielded 177 bps savings in OPEX and as a result, our consolidated EBITDA margin reached its highest level in the last 8 years. Our leverage ratio was record low as a result of TL 3.0 billion free cash flow generation, the record highest ever. I am also very happy to announce that in line with our commitment to maximize shareholder value, our Board of Directors proposed TL 1.1 billion dividends for 2020.
Despite unprecedented challenges of 2020, we continued to invest behind our infrastructure and digital capabilities. 2020 was the first year where we took the most important steps towards our digital transformation and benefitted the early positive impact on our organizational capabilities during pandemic. Digitalization has become the most crucial component of our business model, which shapes our future in all our processes from production to marketing and sales.
We also continued building on our innovation capabilities and improved the strength of our brands. Relaunch of the Efes Family of brands with a new production technique in a year when beer consumption contracted is the evidence of our belief in the long-term potential of our brands and markets.
2021 started with continued challenges and uncertainties. We expect a gradual recovery in consumer demand; however, we do not anticipate a sustained normalization until the second half of the year. As we transition to normal, we will invest to drive consumption and volume growth in 2021.