Selecta says Europe's work-from-home polices continue to be a headwind for the company | Photo credit: Selecta Group

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Selecta has reported sales of €260.8m ($299m) in its third quarter to September 30, 2021 – a 4.1% increase on the same period during 2020 and 76.3% of third-quarter 2019 levels.
 
However, indicating sustained headwinds the company continues face in the wake of Covid-19, nine-month revenues fell 0.3% to €857.5m compared to the same period in 2020.
 
Geographically, the vending operator said the ‘toughest’ trading conditions were in Denmark and Norway, while ‘the most Covid-19 impacted countries’, including Italy, UK, Spain and France, ‘demonstrated good momentum’.
 
Meanwhile, the Austrian, Dutch and Swiss markets were now trading at close to pre-pandemic levels, the company said. However, ‘sales continue to be impacted by the pandemic mostly due to work-from-home policies, although we saw a gradual recovery of activity throughout the summer,’ Selecta added.
 
“Selecta remains superbly positioned to meet the needs of the post COVID-19 world. Although extended work from home policies impacted the Private sector over the last quarter, we continue to deliver innovative solutions to our clients that perfectly meet the needs of the new hybrid working model,” said Christian Schmitz, Selecta Group CEO.
 
Looking ahead to the remainder of year, Selecta it had now ‘largely completed’ a plan to permanently reduce its workforce from 10,000 staff in 2019 to 7,000 in 2021.
 
Selecta operates We Proudly Serve Starbucks, Nescafé, Pelican Rouge, Lavazza and Miofino branded self-serve coffee machines across Europe. The company maintains a presence across workplaces, healthcare facilities, transport hubs, service stations, retail and leisure locations.