Brewery reports rise in earnings

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St Austell Brewery has reported a rise in sales and income for its last financial year.

James Staughton: "Encouraging performance"
James Staughton: “Encouraging performance”

For the year ended December 28, 2013, the company posted a 10% rise in sales to £116.6 million, while pre-tax earnings before special items lifted 7.4% to £13.8 million.

MD, James Staughton, said that he was “pleased to report a very encouraging performance”.

Staughton commented that “2013 was a year of expansion for both our free trade and national sales divisions, with our own beer production increasing by 13.8% in 2013”.

In order to meet this increased demand, St Austell Brewery said it has invested in both the production and operational capacity of the business.

It was a year of consolidation for the pub estate, both its managed and tenanted divisions had seen a growth in trade in 2013.

Non-executive chairman, Will Michelmore, said that the company had invested £7.6 million during 2013 on acquisitions, refurbishments and infrastructure. He further noted that the strong cash flow of the business meant that net debt had fallen from £29.5 million to £27.4 million.

Staughton reported that the first four months of 2014 had seen volumes of St Austell Brewery’s own beers increase by 16%, and comparable sales in its managed estate grow by 10.7% on 2013, despite the south west region experiencing some of the worst storms since records began.