By Scott Wright
SHARES in The Artisanal Spirits Company closed up more than three per cent last night as the owner of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society declared it expects revenue for the full year to be “comfortably ahead” of forecasts, and signalled confidence in the outlook for 2022.
Edinburgh-based Artisanal, which floated on the stock market in June, expects to report revenue of £18 million for the year ended December 31, up from £15m last time.
The leap in sales has come as The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, which has venues in Leith, Edinburgh, Glasgow and London, saw global membership increase by 15% in the second half, from 28,700 at year end on June 30 to more than 33,000 at the end of December. The Society, which was formed in 1983, saw UK and international membership grow by 20% and 15% respectively over the year.
Artisanal raised £26m of gross proceeds when it debuted on the Alternative Investment Market in June in a float that valued the company at nearly £78m. Of the £26m, £15m went straight into the company coffers, with Artisanal investing the cash in matured spirit stock and casks, and the launch of a new whisky brand, JG Thomson.
Investment was made in a 10-year lease for a 37,000 square foot logistics facility in Uddingston, which Artisanal said would give it greater control of its supply chain. Announcing the lease in October, the company said the property would provide it with a high-quality warehouse, production building and offices, as well as “excellent transport links”.
A warehouse was also established by the company in mainland Europe to “mitigate Brexit-related logistical challenges” and cut shipping and delivery times to its members in the European Union.
Artisanal noted yesterday that it had seen a continued recovery in UK venue and events sales following a phased reopening in the second quarter, adding that its performance had been “robust” through to the end of the year despite the emergence of the Omicron variant. Sales in UK venues in the second half surpassed its total for 2020.
Looking ahead, the company said the membership growth it had seen in the second half has given it the confidence that it will see “further meaningful revenue growth” next year, “notwithstanding the inherent unpredictability of Covid-19”.
David Ridley, managing director, said: “2021 was a transformational year for the Artisanal Spirits Company in many ways. Sales growth was consistently strong, particularly in the context of ongoing industry-wide pressures as a consequence of Covid-19 and Brexit.”
“The exciting step-change in our development created by our admission to trading on AIM in June has given us the strategic focus and access to funds to enable us to take our SMWS member offering to the next level, launching JG Thomson and exploring opportunities to expand the group’s portfolio of brands. The early fruits of this step-change can be seen in the material acceleration in overall membership growth in the second half.”
He added: “We have created a special culture at the Artisanal Spirits Company and I would like to take this opportunity to thank our teams for their hard work and resilience throughout the year, overcoming challenges, driving us forward and helping us continue to be successful.”
Shares closed up 3p at 96.5p.
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