St Austell Brewery has reported “an excellent year”, with a rise in its annual sales and profit.
Turnover for the year ended December 31 rose 13% to £153.2 million, while operating profit before other items increased 5% to £14 million.
Non-executive chairman, Will Michelmore, said: “I am very pleased to report another record financial performance for St Austell Brewery. During the year we invested £25.9 million in capital expenditure, of which £16.7 million was on new acquisitions.
“These acquisitions included the purchase of Bath Ales. This acquisition supported our strategy to strengthen and extend our presence in this important trading region. The company has also added new sites to its pub portfolio during the year as well as investing in our production and distribution facilities and refurbishing and improving our pubs and hotels.”
Chief executive, James Staughton, added: “It has been an excellent and historic year for the company. The acquisition of Bath Ales was a logical step towards our strategic objective of having the best pub estate and premier beer brands in the south west of England.
“Our strategy is to continue to invest for the long term and ensure that we remain focused on delivering wonderful distinctive experiences through great products and services, conscious innovation, measurement and the scaling of what works. The company’s continued success relies on our employees and licensees and I thank them all for their hard work, dedication and relentless commitment to delighting our customers.”
