Coopers Brewery has bucked the trend of declining beer sales, with its new XPA, and its old fashioned stout doing the business
Sales of keg beer may have tumbled, but that hasn’t stopped Australia’s biggest independent brewer chalking up a tidy sales spike — fueled by tinnies and home brew.
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Coopers Brewery has shrugged off declining national beer sales, pub shutdowns Australia-wide and huge competition from new craft brewers to post an increase in beer sales for the past financial year.
The largest independent – and still family-owned – brewer in Australia says its move to develop new beers such as its XPA and Hazy IPA, and putting its old favourites Pale Ale and Sparkling Ale in cans, has proven a winner.
And another old favourite – Coopers Best Extra Stout, which is one of the brewery’s oldest beers, has also enjoyed a resurgence, with sales hitting their highest levels in more than half a century.
The company’s increase in beer sales goes against the prevailing industry trend of lower beer consumption and sales, which Lion said contributed to its decision, announced last month, to shut the West End brewery next year and move production interstate.
Coopers managing director Tim Cooper said today there was a 3.9 per cent increase in total beer sales for the 12 months to June 30, underpinned by increased demand for its portfolio of cans.
Total beer sales, excluding non-alcoholic beers, for the financial year rose to 79.8 million litres, up from the 76.8 million litres recorded for the previous year.
This is all the more remarkable considering pubs around the nation were been closed for part of that financial year.
Sales of Coopers’ international partner brand beers fell 2.5 per cent during the financial year,
and keg sales fell 24.4 per cent due to the pub closures.
“In a time of such uncertainty, Australian beer drinkers appear to be choosing brands they feel they can trust,” Dr Cooper said.
“The pandemic has had a significant impact on Australia’s hospitality industry and our keg sales in particular suffered as a result.
“To have emerged in an overall strong position is testament to the loyalty of beer drinkers, the
sheer resilience of hoteliers and publicans and the determination of our team at Coopers Brewery. We’re looking to the year ahead with cautious optimism.”
The company’s home brew sales have also been surging, with a lockdown-driven renewal of interest in the sector delivering a strong second half.
Retail sales of home brew kits fell in the first half of the financial year, followed by “outstanding growth” of 166 per cent in the last four months of the year, resulting in DIY beer concentrate sales rising by 6 per cent, from 2600 tonnes last year to 2757 tonnes this year.
Dr Cooper said the company was committed to helping pub venues recover from the pandemic.
“We introduced a number of initiatives to support hotels and venues over this challenging time, including offering refunds on full kegs returned to the company,’’ he said.
“In total, 13,000 kegs were collected from venues across Australia at a cost of over $3 million.
“We also launched our online Live, Loud and Local series, a unique ‘virtual pub’ experience
featuring A-list musicians, chefs and celebrities showcasing pub culture at its best,” Dr Cooper said. We’re planning more campaigns and events to assist venues on the road to recovery over the coming months.”
Malted barley production – sales of which now represent about 10 per cent of Coopers’ revenue – increased 30 per cent, from 44,300 tonnes to 57,900 tonnes, reflecting a growing demand across Asia for high-quality malt, the company said.
Profit-before-tax for 2019-20 was $34.3 million, similar to the level recorded in the 2018 financial year, and a strong recovery from the $23.1 million recorded in the 2019 financial year. During the year, around $20.7 million was paid down on debt.
Coopers reduced its dividend for the first time since 1994, and will pay shareholders $12 per share, down from $13 the previous year “and reflects the conservative position taken by the Board in a period of uncertainty’’.
COOPERS’ SALES GROWTH BY STATE
• 13.6% in Western Australia
• 5.8% in New South Wales
• 4.4% in Queensland
• 2.7% in Victoria
• 0.4% in South Australia
• -1.3% in the Northern Territory