- Closing quarter to end of December sees sales decline 23% to US$138.3m
- For the full year, group top line slides 24% to $536.4m
US-based brand owner & contract distiller MGP Ingredients has reported heavy falls in sales from both the final quarter and the full year of 2025.
Late last week, the group said its top line was down by almost a quarter in both time periods, although its more-premium brands delivered sales growth. The main hit, however, came from the ‘Distilling Solutions’ – or contract distilling – operations, as wider category trends made their presence felt last year.
For the fourth quarter, sales from contract distilling tumbled by 47%, and by 45% in 2025. The company said it has seen that “many large customers paused purchases, including to balance their whiskey inventories and manage their working capital” throughout the year. Also affecting the unit were lower sales of both new distillate and aged whiskey.
Over in ‘Branded Spirits’, where MGP has a portfolio that includes bourbons Penelope and Yellowstone as well as El Mayor tequila, Q4 dipped by 1% while FY 2025 was down 3%. The division’s sales were hit hardest at the ‘value’ end of the price ladder over the full year, while sales slumped by 23% versus -6% from the ‘mid’ bracket and +5% from ‘premium plus’. The company’s definitions of the three price brackets were not indicated.
MGP stated in its results announcement that a non-cash impairment has been applied to ‘Branded Spirits’ in Q4. The reset, valued at $152.6m, was “primarily due to certain unfavourable macroeconomic factors such as a higher discount rate and lower peer valuation multiples compared to the fourth quarter of 2024”.
“2025 was a year of deliberate repositioning for MGP,” said CEO Julie Francis. “I am pleased with the team’s efforts as we did what we said we will do and made meaningful progress … and delivered full-year financial results above our prior expectations.
“As we look ahead, we believe our enhanced strategic clarity, decisive actions and disciplined execution will position the company to deliver sustained growth off of our 2026 guidance expectations. Many of these actions are well underway, and they are already changing how we operate, giving us confidence that MGP will emerge better aligned, more resilient and well positioned for long-term value creation.”
Francis, who spent 19 months across 2017 and 2018 working for Constellation Brands as senior VP of commercial & category development, joined MGP as its CEO in July last year.
