Thwaites' profits dip on rising costs

Regional brewer Daniel Thwaites has reported a fall in profits for the year to the end of March, with rising costs countering the benefits of increased sales.

Lancashire-based Thwaites saw operating profit fall 7.2 per cent to £19.1m. A £2.5m increase in business costs including rising utility bills, the cost of the new licensing legislation and a staff restructuring programme all hit the bottom line. Thwaites also saw a fall in income from its Stafford Hotel in London, which was affected by development in the area.

The dip in profits overshadowed a good operational performance by Thwaites, with the 372-strong tenanted estate seeing 7.5 per cent like-for-like sales growth, and brewing volumes up 8 per cent following a 2.1m investment in the brewery at Blackburn.

Flagship beer brands saw healthy sales increases, with Kaltenberg HELL lager continuing to gain market share with 16 per cent growth, and Lancaster Bomber bitter, endorsed by cricketer Freddie Flintoff, seeing growth of 20 per cent.

Thwaites invested £2.3m in a refurbishment programmes across its 50-plus managed pub estate, along with £7.1m spent on acquiring 11 new pubs and another £4.2m on developments in the tenanted estate.

Managing director Brian Hickman said: "It has been a challenging year for the business, but we believe that these results are a further indication that the long-term plan we outlined after the mid-year results is sound, and one that we are well on course to deliver.

"The difficulties we have faced in terms of increasing operating costs have been challenging but not unexpected - which is why we took action at the beginning of the year to address some of these issues."