Distil Q1 revenues grow despite strong comparatives

Spirits maker Distil said on Monday that unaudited first-quarter revenues had increased 10% year-on-year, while volumes had grown 15% on 2020.

Distil said figures were "particularly encouraging" as it was now "lapping the unprecedented first quarter in 2020", in which the firm experienced panic buying fuelled by the Covid-19 pandemic that resulted in "unusually inflated" revenues.

The AIM-listed group highlighted that the easing of global travel restrictions had seen border shops and diplomatic sales begin to return, although it admitted that airport duty-free and travel retail remained "significantly depressed" versus 2019.

Chairman Don Goulding said: "We continue to prioritise expanding our geographical footprint through new and existing export markets. Proactive and well-managed internal operations have ensured a smooth Brexit transition with minimal disruption to sales into the EU, and have allowed us to further expand our reach into Europe this quarter."

As of 0940 BST, Distil shares were up 7.35% at 2.47p.