BrewDog co-founder frustrated over missing out on return to profit
BrewDog revealed its underlying trading EBITDA losses improved from minus £12.8m in 2022 to minus £2.5m in 2023 in its 2023 results while also providing an update on the first half of its 2024 financial year.
Watt said on LinkedIn: “We came very close to returning to profitability, recording a £2.5m operating loss.
“Frustrating, yes but we’re right on the edge of a return to our strong track record of positive EBITDA trading.”
However, the group said net revenues were up 12% to £280.9m (2022: £253.1m) driven by market-leading performance in beer and continued strong performance in the bar division in its results ended 31 December 2023.
It also reported a higher group pre-tax loss of £59m (2022: £25m) driven by one-off impairment costs related to historic acquisitions and restructuring while BrewDog Waterloo and BrewDog Las Vegas both delivered more than £10m in sales in 2023.
Return to profit in H1 2024
Meanwhile BrewDog USA revenue grew 20% and German and Australian breweries grew at 20% and 31% respectively, with European distributors’ growth at 9%.
In its H1 2024, update ended 30 June 2024, BrewDog said it had made “significant improvement” in profitability with the business returning to EBITDA positive trading and reported revenues of £137.5m.
It has also opened new bars including Bangkok, Denver, Perth and Rotterdam, with announcements of new travel hubs at Belfast Grand Central and Edinburgh Waverley before the end of 2024.
BrewDog CEO James Arrow said: “The progress made in 2023, and the first half of 2024 demonstrates the appeal of our brilliant beers, the power of our brand, and the strong appetite for quality craft beer in the UK and around the world.
“Our focus remains on delivering sustainable profitable growth, so that we can continue to invest in our beers, our bars and most importantly our people.
Global expansion on track
“We are pleased to report our trading losses reduced significantly in 2023, reflecting the significant changes we have made to address inefficiencies in the way we operate, and this will continue to be a priority as our business continues to evolve and return to sustainable, profitable growth in 2024.
“Our global bar expansion plan is also continuing as planned, increasing our footprint across Europe, U.S and Australia, entering new markets such as Thailand for the first time and growing our presence at major transport hubs. Together with our local partners we are committed to spreading our passion for quality beer around the globe.”
The business said it has brewed more than 1m hectolitres (HL) of beer for the first time in its history with June 2023 marking BrewDog’s biggest ever month with over 100,000HL brewed.
It has launched three ‘hero’ beers –Black Heart stout, Wingman session IPA and Shore Leave amber ale.
It claimed in its first 12 months, Black Heart took 10% of Guinness’s share in UK supermarkets in the UK while there has been further investment in brewing capacity and efficiency at its Ellon base, with 2023 seeing the commission of new fully automated brew kit “Brew House 2” to increase brewing capacity to 2.5mHL.
