Coopers Brewery's beer sales have risen during 2015-16, but competitive pressures and costs have weighed on the South Australian brewer's annual profits.
For the past 23 years, the South Australian company says, it has seen compound sales growth of
9.2 per cent, at a time when total Australian beer sales have been contracting.
Coopers MD, Dr Tim Cooper, said packaged beer sales had risen 3.8 per cent, while keg volumes had also recorded a “small, but pleasing” rise of 0.8 per cent.
Dr Cooper said Coopers’ revenue for 2015-16 had increased by 4.6 per cent to $245.9 million.
A few things impacted the company's profit however, Dr Cooper said.
Margins continued to be squeezed by competitive pressures in the market-place and higher malt costs.
Also, preparation costs associated with construction of a malting plant at Regency Park, and a
$7.5 million write-down of goodwill for the Mr Beer business in the USA, meant that net profit after
tax for the year fell 16.3 per cent to $24.2 million from $28.9 million in 2014-15.
Dr Cooper said that at a cost of $63 million, the new malting plant at Regency Park was the largest
single item of capital expenditure in Coopers’ history.
Dr Cooper said the write-down of goodwill for Mr Beer was required under Australian accounting
standards.
“While the business initially returned good profits, recent competition from other DIY brewing
businesses and the loss of some key accounts meant we had to recognise an impairment of
goodwill,” he said.
“Coopers purchased a majority share of Mr Beer in 2011. Our initial $11.3 million investment has
so far returned $5.3 million.”
