In a shareholder update sent to its ‘Equity Punks’ investors, the Scottish pub operator and brewer posted a pre-tax loss of £36.6m for the year, with sales growth slowing to under 1% at £357m, The Guardian has reported.
After tax, losses stood at £34.5m. While the brewer highlighted an adjusted earnings figure of £7.5m, annual interest payments rose by £4m to £17.3m, reflecting high-interest borrowing in recent years.
Significant changes
The company also confirmed a further £20m loan from its largest shareholder, TSG Consumer Partners.
The results come during a period of significant change for the business, following the departure of co-founders James Watt and Martin Dickie.
Dickie stepped down from his role in August, shortly after Watt’s earlier exit as CEO, marking the end of the founding pair’s leadership of the business.
James Taylor, who took over as CEO earlier this year, said BrewDog had “achieved our highest ever share of the UK beer market, selling the equivalent of 4.5 cans of beer every second in UK supermarkets.”
Operational pressures
The Ellon-based businesses also recently hit back at claims it had lost listings of beer in almost 2,000 pubs, highlighting its presence in independent outlets had increased.
Though operational pressures have mounted, with BrewDog closing 10 UK bars including its Aberdeen flagship, and losing listings in around 2,000 pubs. The company continues to operate 71 UK venues alongside international breweries and bars.
Earlier this week, beer writer Pete Brown looked at the recent changes at the company, questioning if BrewDog was actually still BrewDog, for an opinion article in The Morning Advertiser. Read more here.
- This story originally featured in The Morning Advertiser’s sister publication MCA here.
