Beer company Coopers Brewery reported on Friday that FY19 profits sunk by over $11 million to A$23.1 million.
Coopers’ managing director, Dr Tim Cooper said the 31 per cent drop in profit was due to a changing sales mix, higher barley prices and competitive market conditions.
Interest and borrowing costs increased by A$1.7 million, while sales of manufactured partner brands fell 11.4 per cent.
Despite the drop in profit, there was a 2 per cent lift in sales volumes to 76.8 million litres in 2018-2019, helped by the introduction of new products including Coopers Session Ale and Coopers Dry aa well as the release of Coopers Original Pale Ale in cans.
“Coopers Dry entered the market to replace Coopers Clear and has been able to carve out a share of the dry or low-carb sector with sales exceeding initial expectations,” Cooper said.
The Pale Ale cans surpassed the sales of the former product, Dr Tim’s Traditional Ale.
Queensland had the highest sales volumes, rising by 6.1. Western Australia, sales rose by 3.1 per cent, Victoria by 2.9 per cent and South Australia by 2 per cent. Sales in NSW were described as “steady”.
Dr Cooper said that the first months of the new financial year were positive, with strong growth in XPA and the Sparkling Ale in cans.
