Brewer reshapes business in search of profits
It has been a flat year for Black Sheep Brewery, prompting its chairman to refer to the company’s latest results as “all too familiar” in a period which saw it continue to be squeezed by the rise of craft beer and a cloudy political backdrop.
In a statement on the company’s performance for the year to March 31, chairman Paul Theakston said: “On the face of it, the results for the year look all to familiar, with an operating loss very little different to the year before.
“It is true that trading continued to be challenging, that the cask beer sector is increasingly fragmented, with the roll call of microbrewers still growing, beer volumes nationally decreasing in the face of social pressures and challenges from other drinks, and so on. With the additional uncertainty brought about by Brexit and a foggy political landscape.”
“However, moaning about all this is pointless and counter productive. It is current reality and the challenge and the priority for the board and management of Black Sheep has been to reshape the business to bring it back to profitability as soon as possible.”
Theakston said: “Change starts at the top”, referring to a number of board changes at the business since April.
One of which was announced this week, which will see a new chairman take over from Theakston.
Andy Slee will take up the role from September and Theakston will remain on the board as a non-executive director.
Slee has more than 30 years’ experience in the industry and has been a non-executive director at Black Sheep Brewery since 2016.
In the Companies House filing, the Masham brewer saw revenues remain steady at £17.99m, from £18.25m the year before.
The company’s operating loss was nearly identical at £437,127 in the period, compared to £438,856 in 2016.
Pre-tax losses increased from £607,434 to £635,786 due to additional interest payments and reduced payback from tax.
Looking ahead, Theakston said: “This has truly been a year of change. The full effect will be felt in the 2017/18 year, when there will be continuing improvement in Black Sheep’s performance.”
