Spirits maker Distil PLC (LON:DIS) moved past the million pound in sales milestone in the year just ended.
Sales volumes and revenues from its brands, which include Blackwoods gin & vodka and RedLeg Spiced Rum, rose significantly during the year to the end of March as the company focused on brand building through increased distribution, marketing and promotion.
The company highlighted significant progress in the UK market where it has been successful in securing listings for RedLeg Spiced Rum in major UK retail multiples. It also continued to increase its presence in the US market with initial shipments of Blackwoods Small Batch Gin and Blavod Black Vodka during the year and in Australasia where it experienced significant volume growth for RedLeg Spiced Rum.
For the year, turnover rose to £1.17mln from £666,000 the year before, trickling through to dilute the operating loss to £97,000 from £286,000 the previous year.
Margins narrowed to 58% from 61%.
"We are pleased to report strong growth year-on-year on the back of increased investment in our brands," said Don Goulding, executive chairman of Distil.
“The overall business has been transformed and simplified over the past three years and we are benefiting from focus on each of our brands. The recent TTB approval of RedLeg Spiced Rum will further enhance our presence in the important USA market and, with planned further marketing investment across all our brands, we look forward to building on the significant progress made to date," he added.
Shares in Distil rose 2.2% to 1.15p in the morning session.