Distil Q3 revenues fall short of 'distorted' prior comparatives

Alcoholic drinks manufacturer Distil warned on Monday that third-quarter revenues had slumped year-on-year due to coming up against comparators that it claims had been "distorted" by initial Covid-19 related lockdowns and consumer stockpiling.

Distil stated that because of its "exceptional nature", year-on-year unaudited revenues were down 28% versus the same period a year earlier. However, the group did highlight that Q3 unaudited revenues were 23% higher than their pre-Covid comparatives.

Similarly, unaudited year-on-year third-quarter total revenues decreased 32%, but Distil highlighted that in that period it had also reduced support for deep-cut promotional activity in the UK in favour of a longer-term beneficial move to more premium positioning for its key brands.

The AIM-listed group added that an initial advance of £2.85 million (£3 million less one year's retained interest of £0.15 million) has now been made to Ardgowan under the terms of our loan agreement. Planning for the Blackwoods gin distillery is underway and making good progress in line with our planned timetable. We have also progressed our new Malt Scotch and anticipate formally launching the product in the coming months, opening new market opportunities for the Group and its brand portfolio.

As of 1030 GMT, Distil shares were down 12.16% at 1.62p.