- Six-month sales rise 14% year-on-year to GBP160.9m (US$185.6m)
- “Strong demand” in US – Top line climbs 9% to GBP40.1m
- Partnerships with spirits brands continue with focus on recovering on-premise
- Makes non-carbonated mixer play in US, acquires Powell & Mahoney
Fever-Tree is looking to expand beyond its carbonated mixer core into “premium soft drinks” and non-carbonated cocktail mixers.
The UK-headquartered group has reported a 14% lift in sales from the six months to the end of June, as the on-premise recovery benefited performance, particularly in Europe. The company also announced the purchase last month of Powell & Mahoney, a “craft cocktail mixer” business based in Massachusetts.
While the company's domestic market delivered a 6% increase, helped in part by a positioning trial in the soft drinks section of a multiple retailer, the US is where the real excitement lies. An unspectacular 9% sales rise in the country was shaded in the results announcement by details of trans-Atlantic shipping delays during the half-year and a "slower than expected ramp" for Fever-Tree's production facility on the east coast.
"Following steps taken to address these challenges," the group said, "inventory is recalibrating post period end and our performance is improving, reflecting the underlying momentum."
Elsewhere, tourism's bounceback in southern Europe was highlighted as a sales driver, while Australia and Canada were cited as "our immediate focus" in the months ahead. Finally, in Japan, Fever-Tree has partnered with Asahi Breweries to handle distribution in a three-year "exclusive" arrangement, from January.
In noting the global macroeconomic challenges, the company said it expects to protect itself by shifting more of its production in-market.
For the full year, the guidance issued in July of sales between GBP355m and GBP365m was reconfirmed.
