This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/jul/24/fever-trees-value-gin-sales-shares

The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Fever-Tree's value fizzes to £4.5bn on back of strong gin sales Fever-Tree's value fizzes to £4.5bn on back of strong gin sales
(about 7 hours later)
Shares in upmarket drinks firm Fever-Tree have hit a record £39.87, valuing the company at more than £4.5bn as it said it expected its full-year results to be “comfortably ahead” of previous forecasts on the back of strong gin sales. Britain’s unquenchable thirst for gin proved the tonic for upmarket mixer maker Fever-Tree, as it reached a record value of £4.5bn on Tuesday after smashing profit forecasts.
Fever-Tree, which produces tonic water and other carbonated mixers, has rapidly grown over the past few years as sales of premium gin have surged in Britain. The shares floated on the stock market in 2014 at just £1.66. A surge in its share price meant that the 13-year-old drinks company was worth nearly as much as Royal Mail and outstripped the combined stock market value of WH Smith, Debenhams, the AA and Saga.
The company said its performance in the UK over the Christmas period was particularly notable, with an “impressive rate of sales growth” for its drinks. Fever-Tree, which produces tonic water and other carbonated mixers, has grown rapidly, thanks in large part to the soaring popularity of premium gin.
UK gin sales have doubled in value over the past six years, and totalled £1.2bn in the 12 months to the end of September last year, according to the Wine and Spirit Trade Association. A YouGov poll found gin was the most popular spirit in the UK, with 29% of drinkers voting it their favourite. UK gin sales have doubled over the past six years to hit £1.2bn in the year to the end of September 2017, according to the Wine and Spirit Trade Association, while a YouGov poll found gin was the most beloved spirit in the UK, with 29% of drinkers voting it their favourite.
The Fever-Tree co-founder and chief executive, Tim Warrillow, said there was more growth to come: “Whilst this is a notable achievement, there remains a significant opportunity in front of us across all our regions as Fever-Tree continues to drive the evolution of the mixer category.” Riding the crest of the gin wave has transformed Fever-Tree into one of the UK’s fastest-growing major companies, making multi-millionaires of co-founders Charles Rolls and Tim Warrilow in the process.
Fever-Tree, named after the colloquial term for the cinchona tree, the bark of which produces quinine – a key ingredient in tonic water is now one of the largest companies on London’s Aim market. The pair founded Fever-Tree in 2005, naming it after the colloquial term for the cinchona tree, the bark of which produces quinine – a key ingredient in tonic water.
Fever-Tree also said it signed two new distribution arrangements one in the US with Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits, and the other with Spain’s Grupo Damm, the maker of Barcelona’s popular beer Estrella Damm. Rolls has banked more than £150m through share sales since the company’s stock market float in 2014, while Warrilow has sold stock worth £41m.
Fever-Tree said adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose to £34m in the six months ended 30 June, from £25.2m a year earlier. Revenue rose 45% to £104.2m. They still own 14% of the company between them, a stake worth nearly £600m, and pocketed payouts of more than £630,000 on Tuesday after the group lifted its dividend by 40%.
The company will pay an interim dividend of 4.22p per share, a 40% rise. Fever-Tree’s shares jumped by as much as 15% to an all-time high of £39.87, after profits in the first six months of the year rose by a third to £34m, on sales up 45% higher to £104m.
The shares settled back before the end of the day to give the company a stock market value of £4.2bn, still more than 30 times what it was worth when it floated four years ago.
Fever-Tree said its performance in the UK over the Christmas period was particularly notable, with an “impressive rate of sales growth”, but insisted it still had room to expand.
Warrilow said: “Whilst this is a notable achievement, there remains a significant opportunity in front of us across all our regions as Fever-Tree continues to drive the evolution of the mixer category.”
Fever-Tree also said it signed two new distribution arrangements – one in the US with wine and spirits distributor Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits, and the other with Spain’s Grupo Damm, the maker of Barcelona’s popular beer Estrella Damm.
Food & drink industryFood & drink industry
newsnews
Share on FacebookShare on Facebook
Share on TwitterShare on Twitter
Share via EmailShare via Email
Share on LinkedInShare on LinkedIn
Share on PinterestShare on Pinterest
Share on Google+Share on Google+
Share on WhatsAppShare on WhatsApp
Share on MessengerShare on Messenger
Reuse this contentReuse this content