Family business roundup: Wacker Chemie, Volkswagen; Jeronimo Martins, Luxottica, AB InBev

Revenues down at Wacker Chemie as they drop prices to remain compeititive and Volkswagen blames the integration of Porsche’s revenue streams last year for its significantly lower sales results for the first nine months of 2013. Jeronimo Martins, Luxottica and AB InBev all see positive results.

Wacker Chemie
Munich-based Wacker Chemie, manufacturer of polysilicon – a vital material for solar panels – reported a 3% drop in revenues to €1.17 billion for the third quarter of the year compared to the same period last year.

The company, controlled by the Wacker family, said sales volumes had increased, but revenues had been impacted by the price reductions they had made to remain competitive, saying prices had dropped by a third on average across the sector. It added, however, their had been a surge in demand because of increased interest in solar power across the globe.

Volkswagen
In Germany, Volkswagen – controlled by the Piech and Porsche families – saw a 1% increase in revenues to €145.7 billion for the first nine months of 2013 compared to the same period last year, although revenue for the third quarter dropped by 3.8% to €47 billion.

Profits after tax dropped sharply – down 66.7% to €6.7 billion for the first nine months of the year, but Volkswagen said last years figure had the one-off benefit of the integration of Porsche's revenue stream into the group.

Jeronimo Martins
Portugal-based grocery group Jeronimo Martins, reported growth of 11.5% in revenues to €8.7 billion for the first nine months of 2013, and net profit was up 2.7% to €280.5 million for the same period.

The group, which controls several supermarket and hypermarket chains in Portugal and Poland, was founded in 1792. It moved into a new market, Columbia, in March this year via its Ara supermarket brand.

Next-gen chief executive Pedro Soares dos Santos said: "In these fist nine months, the group's companies reinforced their leadership positions in the markets where we operate, even if the trading environment has become tougher."

Luxottica
Italian family-controlled sunglasses manufacturer and retailer Luxottica reported a continuation of the strong sales it saw in the first half of the year in its third quarter. Revenues for the third quarter grew 7.4% at constant exchange rates to €1.8 billion, compared to the same period last year, while revenues for the first nine months of 2013 were up 7.5% to €5.7 billion.

The company, controlled by the Del Vecchio family, owns brands like Oakley and Ray-Ban, as well as a number of retail chains. Non-family chief executive Andrea Guerra put the company's performance down to steady sales in Europe, and growing demand in emerging markets and North America.

AB InBev
Brewing and soft drinks giant AB InBev saw revenue growth of 3% to €11.7 billion in the third quarter of 2013 compared to the third quarter of 2012, with revenue for the nine months up 2.8% to €31.5 billion.

AB InBev completed the acquisition of its Mexican counterpart Grupo Modelo in June, and is looking at another big acquisition in the near future to drive growth according to media reports.