By Elisa Anzolin
MILAN (Reuters) -Shares in Campari (LON:0ROY) were on course for their biggest single-day drop in more than four years on Wednesday after the Italian spirits group significantly missed analysts' third-quarter earnings expectations.
Campari shares were down 15% at 1000 GMT, bringing the overall decline since the beginning of the year to around 35%.
Spirits makers have been facing lacklustre demand after a boom in sales in the post-pandemic years came to an end.
"I think probably we have maybe underestimated the level of disruption at the level of consumer confidence," said Paolo Marchesini, Campari's CFO and interim co-CEO, in a post-results conference call with analysts late on Tuesday.
Net sales for Campari, whose products include the popular Aperol aperitif, fell by 1.4% to 753 million euros ($816 million) in the third quarter, while analysts expected a rise to 832 million, a Visible Alpha consensus showed.
"With top-line recovery unclear and a new CEO not yet at the helm we struggle to identify a clear positive catalyst pathway," Barclays said in a note.
Campari said it expected to conclude the search for a new boss by the first half of next year. Previous CEO Matteo Fantacchiotti abruptly quit in September after only five months in charge, with the company citing personal reasons for his departure.
Sales in the Americas were affected by a subdued market backdrop and the impact of July's hurricane in Jamaica, leading to supply shortages in the rum portfolio.
Revenues in Europe were hit by poor weather in September and weaker than expected consumption.
Adjusted operating profit fell 18.2% in the third quarter, also missing an analyst consensus.
($1 = 0.9224 euros)