Canada, ON: Brick Brewing Co. reports financial results for Q1 2017

Brick Brewing Co. Limited, the largest Canadian-owned brewery in Ontario, released on June 1 its financial results for the first quarter ended April 30, 2017.

Brick reported first quarter EBITDA of C$2.1 million on net revenue of C$11.5 million.

George Croft, Brick’s President and Chief Executive Officer commented, “We feel we’re off to a very strong start for fiscal 2018. Our Laker brand performed exceptionally well, delivering double digit volume growth and continuing the strong performance we saw last year. Waterloo continued to grow, despite the challenges of an increasingly competitive Ontario craft beer category. LandShark has quickly become a key contributor to our owner brand performance, remarkable when you consider the brand was first launched in April 2016. With the overall beer category declining approximately 1% in the first quarter, we believe we are winning market share and increasing the relevance of our brands with consumers.”

In the first quarter, Brick recorded C$319 thousand in one-time costs associated with the transfer of production from Formosa to the Kitchener facility, primarily due to severance expenses in Formosa. Brick announced in January the intention to pursue a sale and exit of the Formosa facility, targeting an exit from Formosa by September 2017.

Brick’s Kitchener expansion, also announced in January, is well underway. Russell Tabata, Chief Operating Officer at Brick noted, “We anticipate completing the expansion on-budget and on-schedule. This is a major project for us and, once completed, will deliver recurring savings in the years ahead. The improved capabilities we’re implementing in Kitchener support growth in our branded business, as well as expanding our co-pack production volumes.” In the first quarter, Brick reported over 40% growth in co-pack revenues.

“This is a strong start, but we know we have much left to do,” added Croft. “The recently announced Waterloo packaging redesign is hitting store shelves now, and is a key element to driving improved growth in the Waterloo craft premium brand. As well, our operations team is highly focused on executing the capital expansion projects to drive recurring savings and simplification in the supply chain network. Our disciplined approach to capital investments is core to how we operate, and so will get continued close attention. It is this kind of discipline that allows us to create value for shareholders, through both share price appreciation and dividend payments.”

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