Artisanal Spirits Company PLC (The) AGM Statement (5175M)
24 May 2022 - 5:08PM
UK Regulatory
TIDMART
RNS Number : 5175M
Artisanal Spirits Company PLC (The)
24 May 2022
24 May 2022
The Artisanal Spirits Company plc
("The Artisanal Spirits Company", "ASC", "the Company" or "the
Group")
AGM Statement
Mark Hunter, Chair of The Artisanal Spirits Company (AIM: ART),
the owner of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS"), the leading
curator and provider of premium, single cask Scotch malt whisky and
other spirits for sale primarily online to a discerning global
membership, will provide the following statement in respect of the
first four months of the year at its Annual General Meeting ("AGM")
being held at 9.00am today:
Strong trading and membership growth in the year to date
The Board is pleased to confirm that the positive momentum in
the business referred to in the preliminary results announcement
released in March has continued, with revenue growth in the period
to April remaining above 30% year-on-year.
Global membership growth, a leading indicator of future revenue
growth, is now slightly ahead of management expectations, up over
6% in the period and 25% year-on-year to just over 35,000.
Continued progress against strategic objectives
Good progress has been made at, our new multi-purpose supply
chain facility at Masterton Bond. Cask racking has now largely been
installed with main contractors appointed and due to commence work
this month. We continue to anticipate that the site will become
fully operational in the second half of the year and be a
contributor to improving the already strong margins of the
business.
Talent and organisational development remain an important pillar
of our strategy and we were pleased to receive an overall Employee
Engagement Index score of 81 from a recent staff survey. This is an
exceptional result - well above reported UK and global averages -
demonstrating the belief colleagues have in our vision and
values.
On track to deliver a strong full year performance, forward
revenue guidance maintained
Year on year growth of over 30% in part reflects cycling over
low Q1-21 sales in UK Venues & Europe and we remain cognisant
that comparative performance figures will get tougher in the second
half of the year. Furthermore, the Chinese government's zero
tolerance approach to managing Covid-19 has presented additional
challenges for our business in that territory in the current
quarter. However, we continue to make encouraging progress against
our strategy and the Group remains on course to deliver strong
revenue growth for the full year in line with current consensus
market expectations.
Notes
1. The Board of the Artisanal Spirits Company consider that
current consensus market expectations for the year ending 31
December 2022 are revenues of GBP21.6m (2021 actual revenues
GBP18.2m)
For further enquiries:
The Artisanal Spirits Company plc via Alma PR
David Ridley, Managing Director
Andrew Dane, Finance Director
Singer Capital Markets (Nominated Adviser and Sole Broker) Tel: +44 (0) 20 7496 3000
Sandy Fraser
Rachel Hayes
George Tzimas
Asha Chotai
Alma PR (Financial PR) Tel: +44 (0)20 3405 0205
Josh Royston artisanalspirits@almapr.co.uk
David Ison
Lily Soares Smith
About The Artisanal Spirits Company
Artisanal Spirits Company (ASC) is based in Edinburgh. It owns
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) which was established in 1983
and currently has a growing worldwide membership of over 35,000
paying subscribers.
Harnessing the experience of some of the most knowledgeable
stewards in the industry, SMWS provides members with inspiring
experiences, content and exclusive access to a vast and unique
range of outstanding single cask Scotch malt whiskies and other
craft spirits, sourced from over 100 distilleries in 20 countries
and expertly curated with diligence and care. In 2021 around 83% of
Group revenue was generated online, whilst 13% was generated
through SMWS's four UK venues.
Having initially proven its premium experience model in the UK,
SMWS is now able to offer its unrivalled breadth of distinguished
flavours to an expanding international market, with 69% of 2021
sales from outside the UK. SMWS has a growing presence in the key
global whisky markets including UK, China, USA and Europe.
ASC is building a portfolio of premium brands that bring
together some of the world's best spirits producers with a growing
movement of discerning consumers by curating unrivalled collections
of craft spirits. In November 2021 it launched J.G. Thomson &
Co. Inspired by its namesake, which was originally a wine and
spirits merchant in Leith, Scotland, in the 1700s, J.G. Thomson is
a new, adventurous blender, creating small batch blended malt
whiskies, blended grain whiskies, rum and gin. J.G. Thomson
products are available from www.jgthomson.com as well as a range of
leading whisky shops, bars and restaurants.
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END
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