E-Malt.com News article: Canada, ON: Brick Brewing Reports sets a EBITDA record of C$5.4 mln for the fiscal year of 2015

Brick Brewing Co. Limited, the largest Canadian-owned and Canadian-based publicly held brewery in Ontario, on April 13 released financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended January 31, 2015. Brick posted record annual EBITDA of C$5.4 million on net revenue of C$36.3 million. In the fourth quarter, Brick achieved EBITDA of C$1.8 million, compared to EBITDA of C$1.3 million in the fourth quarter of the prior year, Stockhouse reported on April 13th.

Brick's president and chief executive officer George Croft said, "Overall, F2015 was a good year for Brick. We grew EBITDA, continued to expand our gross margins, made good progress in building a stronger brand portfolio and increasing our share in craft premium. We also continued to improve our sales execution, revenue management capabilities and increased the efficiency of our operation. As a result, we delivered record EBITDA of C$5.4 million."

Brick's premium craft beer brand, Waterloo, posted full year volume growth of 21%. In addition to the successful launch of Waterloo Grapefruit Radler, the company also achieved strong growth in the Waterloo core offerings – Dark, Pilsner, IPA and Amber. Mr. Croft continued, "Waterloo performance in fiscal 2015 was exceptional, outperforming the craft category by a significant margin." In the Seagram's brand, volume was down 13% for the year, largely due to loss of select LCBO listings. The LCBO listing losses were mitigated by Seagram's apple cider, which grew over 25% in the year, and by Seagram's malt, sold through The Beer Store, which grew over 80%. "The category extensions we've introduced under the Seagram brand are paying dividends. Malt-based beverages and cider are fast growing categories, and our entries there have begun to resonate with consumers. We believe we're in the early stages of growth for cider and malt beverages, so we're looking for this strong performance to continue," said Croft.

Brick previously announced a project to expand its Kitchener facility. The project, targeted for completion by the end of October 2015, is expected to deliver a minimum of C$1 million in recurring savings. Russell Tabata, Chief Operating Officer at Brick, noted, "This is the largest capital project in our company's history, and it's getting our full attention. Several months into the project, we're right on track in terms of progress and spending. On completion, the investment will leave us with a leading edge, fully integrated facility that will allow us to significantly improve our competitive position with the large international brewers."


15 April, 2015