Operational results for the 3Q and the first 9 months of 2019

BELUGA GROUP announces its operational results for the 3Q and the first 9 months of 2019

• The company's overall sales showed a positive trend of +19,7% and +6.7% respectively
• Sales of the company's own products grew by 18,5 for the 3Q and 4.9% for the 9 months
• Sales of imported brands were up by 32,5% and 26.1% respectively

BELUGA GROUP one of the Russia's largest alcohol company announces that for the first 9 months of 2019 its total sales grew by 6.7%, and amounted to 10 383 thousand 9L cases. Sales of the company's own products increased by 4.9% and totaled 9 342 thousand 9L cases. At the same time for the 3Q overall sales grew by 19,7% to 4 134 thousand 9L cases, with sales of own products up by 18,5% to 3 722 thousand 9L cases.

From the beginning of the year import brands represented in Russia by BELUGA GROUP on an exclusive basis demonstrated a stable growth, their sales grew by 26.1% and reached 1 041 thousand 9L cases for the 9 months of 2019. This growth was driven by Barcelo rum and brands from the William Grant & Sons portfolio. The wine line continues developing dynamically.

Double-digit growth demonstrates Beluga vodka both in Russia and internationally. Exports of the brand accelerated +15%, to 199 thousand 9L cases for the 9 months. The company's flagship brand became the market leader in the super-premium vodka segment in the Baltic and CIS countries, as well as in Bulgaria, Slovakia and Vietnam. Beluga has significantly strengthened its positions in Germany, Italy, Israel, the Czech Republic, Serbia, Croatia, Lebanon, and India. Besides, Beluga holds strong second position if Duty Free globally in its segment.

Alexander Mechetin, Chief Executive Officer of the BELUGA GROUP, commented on the results: "Over the past 9 months, the company has been doing well. There is a tendency towards acceleration of growth in the 3Q which is due to the active realization of our diversification strategy implemented on all markets. The Group occupies leading positions in all key categories of strong spirits and is successfully developing its own and imported wine brands. In December, we will present the main specialization of our Golubitskoe Estate winery—Tete de Cheval, a sparkling wine that would make a great choice for the New Year celebrations.

In the reporting period, the company continued to further expand its own retail chain—WineLab: for the first 9 months of 2019, 164 new stores were opened. The number of outlets totaled 570, and by the end of the year, the number of stores will approach 600.

Beluga kept growing on export markets, both in Europe and in Asia. It is worth mentioning the company's collaboration with Selfridges, one of the largest stores in London, for which the brand presented a special vodka series, Beluga Noble. Another important international project is Beluga Signature, an educational program delivered by the brand for the fourth time this year for several hundreds of bartenders from 7 different countries.

Over the past years, the company has evolved from a vodka producer focused on the Russian market, to a major player with a diversified brand portfolio, operating both in Russia and globally. This was possible due to the efforts of 10,500 employees, who provide customers not simply with products, but with emotional experiences.

In the future, the company will continue developing within its corporate standards and the chosen strategy, offering its consumers quality products in all categories and segments of alcoholic beverages."