Co-owner Mateschitz received a profit distribution of 200 million euros plus a special dividend of 142 million euros.
Red Bull co-owner Dietrich Mateschitz.
The profit engine at Red Bull continues to run at full speed. For 2019, the Salzburg energy drink producer reports a record profit of 818 million euros (+ 10 percent), according to the annual financial statements recently published in the commercial register.
Traditionally, half of the profit is distributed to the owners Dietrich Mateschitz and the Thai entrepreneurial family Yoovidhya; Mateschitz also received a special dividend of 142 million euros.
The company is silent on economic issues and does not publish any consolidated financial statements. Red Bull GmbH, based in Fuschl am See (Salzburg), reported annual sales of 3.9 billion euros (+8.6 percent) for 2019, including all subsidiaries, the revenues amounted to 6.1 billion euros (+ 9.5 percent).
Red Bull GmbH paid taxes on income and earnings of EUR 240 million last year.
7.5 billion cans
The Salzburg energy drink manufacturer sold around 7.5 billion cans (+10.4 percent) worldwide last year. Sales grew particularly strongly in India, Brazil and on the African continent, but the beverage producer also sold significantly more in Germany and Austria. The energy drinks business remains highly profitable for Red Bull. The return on sales – excluding subsidiaries – was over 27 percent.
Red Bull is 49 percent owned by the co-founder and CEO Dietrich Mateschitz and 51 percent by the Yoovidhya family from Thailand. Since the owners usually only take half of the profit from the company annually, a profit carried forward of around 1 billion euros and a balance sheet profit of 1.8 billion euros has arisen over the years. Red Bull is sitting on an extremely large cushion of equity, the equity ratio was a very high 80.4 percent in 2019.
In addition to the traditional distribution of half of the annual profit to the owners, an amount of 95 million euros was paid to Distribution & Marketing GmbH von Mateschitz and an additional amount of 3 million euros to the shareholder Chalerm Yoovidhya in June.
Furthermore, in October an amount of EUR 47 million from the existing profit carried forward was distributed to Distribution & Marketing GmbH von Mateschitz, according to a shareholder resolution. According to the annual financial statements in the commercial register (“WirtschaftsCompass”), the total profit distribution to Mateschitz was EUR 342 million.
Brand equity
Red Bull also has a “hidden reserve” in the billions. The value of the Red Bull brand is not visible in the balance sheet of Red Bull GmbH. For “concessions, industrial property rights and similar rights” only 14.7 million euros were given. The European Brand Institute estimates the brand value of Red Bull at 15.1 billion euros.
The Red Bull Group recently had over 12,700 employees worldwide. Salzburg's Red Bull GmbH employed an average of 119 people in 2019 (previous year: 160).
The corona pandemic was not yet an issue when the Red Bull annual financial statements were signed in January 2020. The effects of the corona crisis on the catering, hotel and tour operator industries are affecting the energy drink manufacturer worldwide this year and are likely to have a strong negative impact on sales and profits.
