Moa Group, the boutique beer maker which raised $16 million when it went public in 2012, posted a wider full-year loss and said major shareholders Pioneer Capital and the Business Bakery have committed to providing enough financial support to allow the company to keep operating for at least the year ahead.
The net loss was $5.8 million, or 19.2 cents a share, in the 12 months ended March 31, from $1.9 million, or 7.3 cents a year earlier, the Auckland-based company said in a statement. Sales jumped 88 per cent to $4.6 million but was outpaced by a 137 per cent jump in cost of sales, trimming gross profit to $792,000 from $848,000. Expenses soared 135 per cent to $6.5 million, as costs of distribution, administration, and sales and marketing all rose.
Moa warned in November that the full-year loss would be between $5 million and $6 million, bigger than was projected in the prospectus, with lower-than-expected sales blamed on problems with its distributor, which it has now replaced with a more direct distribution deal. At the time the company said it was embarking on a strategic review to improve performance.
Yesterday, Moa said it signed a long-term contract to have much of its beer manufactured by McCashin's Brewery in Nelson, while higher-margin specialty brews would be made at its Blenheim site, where expansion has been bogged down by a protracted resource consent process.