Renaissance Brewing beats profit forecasts

Blenheim's Renaissance Brewing was the first to raise equity on a crowdfunded platform, it's now beaten profit forecasts.

Renaissance Brewing, the first company to carry out an equity crowdfunding campaign in New Zealand, has beaten the full-year financial forecasts it provided to investors ahead of last year's capital raising.

The Blenheim-based craft brewery, which raised $700,000 selling 12.3 per cent of the company through the Snowball Effect platform, has reported an operating profit of $225,000 at a gross margin of 42.3 per cent.

Revenue for the 12 months to March 31 rose 20 per cent to $1.8 million, while sales in the second-half were 40 per cent higher than in the same period a year earlier.

Renaissance chairman Gareth Lyne said it was important that firm had over-delivered on its forecasts.

Some market commentators have raised concerns about firms making overly-ambitious forecasts ahead of equity crowdfunding campaigns.

"The board of directors took huge rigour in ensuring that the numbers we projected were an achievable challenge for our staff," Lyne said. "They [the staff] have done a fantastic job in achieving this goal, especially the effort that has gone into seeding our newly opened export markets in Japan and Finland."

Founder and chief executive Brian Thiel said the crowdfunding round had provided the company with a "shot in the arm".

"The next couple of years we expect to exceed the projections we gave to investors, whilst maintaining and improving our gross margins," Thiel said. "It is sustainable and, more importantly, achievable growth for us."

The company said a dividend would not be paid, in accordance with its long-term growth policy, and earnings would be invested back into the business.
Equity crowdfunding, which became possible in New Zealand last year through a once-in-a-generation overhaul of securities legislation, allows companies to issue shares to the public through online platforms.

More than 300 investors took part in Renaissance's campaign.

Snowball Effect currently has two live campaigns - one for guitar effects pedal maker Red Witch, which has raised more than $300,000 and is 85 per cent funded, and another for restaurant operator Mad Group, which is 32 per cent funded after raising almost $240,000.