Prodvinalco Cluj: The market is forcing us to cut profit margins

Spirits producer Prodvinalco in Cluj-Napoca intends to consolidate its market shares for key brands, although it expects financial results to be lower than in 2008 due to the crisis. "In such times, we are forced to reduce our margins, boost investments in promotion so as to strengthen the brands that have solid prospects. This is why our 2009 net profit plan is of 4.6 million RON (minimum) to 6.6 million RON at best, while in terms of turnover we expect a stagnation or an up to 10% decline," said Andi Dascal, general manager of Prodvinalco. Dascal, 38, worked for six years at Unilever South Central Europe (USCE) as sales unit manager, as well as at Aquila, as group director, before coming to Prodvinalco in 2004. "My experience with Unilever was the determining factor for the results I obtained at Prodvinalco," Dascal says. In 2008 the producer posted a 49.9 million-RON (13.5 million-euro) pre-excise turnover, up 29% on the figure obtained in the previous year. During the same period, Prodvinalco posted an 8.5 million-RON (2.3 million-euro) turnover, compared with 460,000 RON in 2007.