RedLeg Spiced Rum, Trove Vodka and Blackwoods Gin maker Distil reports profit plunge
UK spirits maker Distil has seen its sales volume and profit poured away for the final quarter of its financial year.
The RedLeg Spiced Rum-maker today said that sales between January and March fell 47 per cent year-on-year, despite an overall eight per cent rise in full-year volumes.
The slump could not be corrected by the group’s 78 per cent year-on-year increase in advertising spend to £130,000. During the three-month period, the group earned a total gross profit of £205,000, a 19 per cent decrease year-on-year.
Dan Goulding, chairman of London-based Distil, said the company had: “Faced a tough quarter of trading” as the wider market continues to operate within “challenging conditions.”
The spirits producer, which also makes Trove Vodka and Blackwoods Gin, has more reason to be optimistic looking at the whole picture, however, Goulding said.
Full-year cumulative volumes rose by eight per cent, and full-year revenues leapt by 17 per cent to £1.55m.
The resulting gross profit of £759,000 was 11 per cent higher than the year prior.
To build a strong start to the year, the company said it has tightened its service to the retail markets through a partnership with fellow UK drinks producer Global Brands.
The company said it expected to issue guidance for the upcoming year when it announces its final results in June.
Alcoholic drinks producers are having a harder time than they have perhaps been used to in the UK at the moment.
Recent research showed that Brits are spending less on nights out to prioritise the health of their wallets and bodies.
Additionally, UK nightclubs, a key trader for producers, have never recovered from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, with over a third having closed for good since June 2020.