Distil shares dropped 3.8% to 1.3p in late afternoon trading on Monday, following a reported turnover fall of 19% to £2.9 million against £3.6 million in the previous year.
The drinks producer confirmed a 19% slide in gross profit to £1.6 million in FY 2022 compared to £2 million in FY 2021, alongside a broadly flat rate of margins at 55.4% from 55.6% year-on-year.
Distil highlighted a decline in advertising and promotional spend of 17% to £890,000 compared to £1 million, and an adjusted administrative expenses climb of 15% to £746,000 from £651,000.
The company also noted an adjusted EBITDA of £9,000 against £303,000, and an operating loss of £132,000 from an operating profit of £254,000 in the last year.
Distil mentioned a successful equity fundraise of £3.2 million before expenses to invest in Ardgowan Distillery Company Limited, with an initial advance of £2.8 million made to the firm.
The drinks group also highlighted its appointment of Michael Keiller as non-executive director in its high points for the financial year.
“Distil brands continued to perform well in a volatile market recovering post-Covid. The reopening and return of consumer confidence in the hospitality sector has contributed to growth in-line with our forecasts pre-pandemic,” said Distil executive chairman Don Goulding.
“Continued challenges to costs have accelerated the consolidation of our production, which has allowed us to benefit from greater efficiencies and economies of scale.”
“In addition, we are building our sales and marketing departments internally to allow us to react quickly to market challenges, increase our distribution footprint and drive marketing reach.”