Mighty Craft boss Mark Haysman has resigned
Mark Haysman has resigned from craft brewing and spirits start-up Mighty Craft a month after two heavyweights joined the board and a strategic review kicked off.
Mighty Craft managing director Mark Haysman has resigned from the beer and spirits company a month after the listed entity announced a strategic review of the business.
The company, which owns brands including Better Beer and Kangaroo Island Spirits, has grown rapidly through acquisition since listing in 2019, with revenue growing from just $4m in 2019 to $62.6m in the 2022 financial year.
The company’s losses have also grown rapidly over that time, from $1.5m to $20.6m, although the Mighty Craft said in its most recent trading update that its operating cashflow had swung to the positive in the second quarter of FY23, and it was set to be cash flow neutral in the third quarter.
It has been a difficult ride for investors however, with the stock currently trading at 7c, near its 12-month lows of 6.5c and well off the year’s high of 25c. The company is also now valued at just $24.8m - about half of the acquisition price it paid for Adelaide Hills Distillery, Mismatch Brewing and Hills Cider in 2021, in a deal which also included a 75 per cent stake in the Lot.100 venue in the Adelaide Hills.
Mighty Craft paid $47m for the Adelaide Hills Group, with $27m paid in cash and $20m in shares at an issue price of 35c apiece.
Earlier in 2021 Mighty Craft also acquired a stake in Adelaide-based craft brewery and venue Sparkke, which was shuttered last year with Mighty Craft handing back its shareholding in that company while taking over its CBD venue.
In 2020 Mighty Craft acquired Kangaroo Island Spirits for $1.5m and a majority stake in Green Ant Gin maker Australian Native Spirits for $400,000.
The company’s most recent trading update indicates it posted third quarter revenue of $25.7m, up 24.5 per cent on the previous corresponding period, and sold 3.1 million litres of Better Beer, up 78 per cent on a year earlier.
Overall beer and cider sales were up 50 per cent to 3.8 million litres while spirits were up 15 per cent at 52,000 bottles sold.
The company had $9.7m in cash at the end of the quarter after raising $5.2m from investors.
In March Mighty Craft welcomed two new directors to the board - former Foster’s managing director Trevor O’Hoy, as well as Katie McNamara who along with a number of other high profile corporate roles was also director of strategy and M&A at Foster’s from 2008-12.
In late May the company announced it had appointed former Lark Whisky chair Chris Malcolm as chair, and said it would conduct a strategic review of the business.
The review’s aim was to look at reducing the company’s debt load, possible further or larger divestments to return capital to the business, and the need to “assess the right structure for the business going forward, including its corporate overhead in light of current challenging market conditions’’.
Almost a month to the day later Mr Haysman resigned, saying the company was left well-placed after making significant progress on its expansion and diversification strategy.
“This has been a very hard decision for me but it feels like the appropriate time to allow the board to guide the company through its next phase,’’ Mr Haysman said in a statement.
Jess Lyons has been appointed acting chief executive of the company.
Mr Haysman was chief executive of Port Adelaide Football Club from late 2008 until mid-2011.
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