SA Brain profits falter amid sluggish recovery
Welsh brewer and pub company SA Brain has blamed poor summer weather last year and a slower than expected economic recovery for a decline in profits.
Profits before interest and taxation for the year to 25 September 2010 fell to £4.5m, from £13.3m the year before, although last year saw the company benefit from the sale of its free trade division to Heineken.
Turnover at the firm was also slightly down, from £103m in 2009 to just over £99m last year.
In his review of the year, chief executive Scott Waddington said: "We were encouraged by our performance up until the end of June, but the combination of poor summer weather and the slower-than-expected recovery of the economy resulted in a slowdown in trading during the final quarter, leaving our year-end outcome slightly behind our target."
SA Brain said it believed the total beer and ale markets in Wales fell at least 10% during the year, while sales of its own ales fell 13% due to challenges in the free trade sector and the smooth ale market in general.
Like-for-like sales at its managed houses were up 1.5% for the full year, with overall sales growth of around £400,000. The company redeveloped 16 sites over the period.
Meanwhile the tenated and leased market continued to suffer a slowdown in consumer spending, and sales volumes fell. Rental income also fell by around 5% as the company supported tenants with a range of measures including discounts.
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By Neil Gerrard
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