Boston Beer Reports 3.8% Decrease in 2022 Shipments
Boston Beer Company reported financial results for the fiscal fourth quarter 2022 and full fiscal year 2022 ended December 31, 2022. Shipments decreased 4.6% on a 52-week comparable basis and net revenue was $2.090 billion, up 1.6%.
The company also said that they ended the fiscal year with $180.6 million in cash and no debt.
“Revenue growth was strong in the fourth quarter; however, margins came in below our expectations largely due to our production mix and supply chain inefficiencies,” said President and CEO Dave Burwick.
Shares of Boston Beer Company slid sharply on Wednesday. Boston Beer reported a $0.93 per share loss, surprising the Wall Street investors who had expected $0.65 in earnings per share for the quarter.
Depletions decreased 5% from fiscal year 2021, reflecting decreases in the Company’s Truly Hard Seltzer, Angry Orchard, Dogfish Head, and Samuel Adams brands, partially offset by increases in its Twisted Tea and Hard Mountain Dew brands.
Boston Beer, who poured a lot of attention into their hard seltzer brand is feeling the rather sudden decline in the popularity of the category. “Although near-term trends remain challenging because of the hard seltzer category’s trajectory, we have strong brands across multiple segments, the top salesforce in beer and a highly cash generative business with a strong balance sheet,” said Chairman and Founder Jim Koch. The company just announced that it was giving the 7-year-old Truly brand a “refresh” in order to keep the brand relevant by investing in new packaging and marketing.
See the full report here.
