Coopers is well and truly on the cans

November 9, 2021
By Ioni Doherty

Coopers Brewery sold more packaged beer than ever in FY21 while kegged beer sales were down by 21 per cent on the volume of FY19.

In a statement from Coopers Brewery’s, Dr Tim Cooper explained, “Cans continued their ascendency and now represent more than 30 per cent of our packaged beer sales.”

Australia’s largest independent family-owned brewery recorded total beer sales, excluding non-alcoholic beers, of 82.3 million litres in the 12 months to 30 June 30, up 2.8 per cent from last financial year.

Profit-before-tax for Coopers in FY21 was $36.5 million, compared with $34.3 million in FY20 with lower operational and external expenses having an impact on the bottom line.

Dr Cooper said the sales results were “better than expected” and attributed much of that to the strength of the Coopers’ brand and consumer appetite for trusted brands during uncertain times.

“We’re seeing consumers continue to gravitate towards authentic brands they can trust with emphasis on high quality and local provenance. That is driving demand for Coopers beer despite the pandemic still acting to suppress keg sales across the industry,” he said.

With keg sales falling so severely, the brewery took the opportunity to invest $2m to upgrade in its keg line and to re-furbish 55,000 kegs.

Coopers also unveiled its $15m expansion plan to grow its onsite warehousing capacity at Regency Park to 5500 square metres.

“This $15 million investment, which boosts our beer storage capacity at the brewery by almost 50 per cent, will allow us to store all our product on site where currently we use some off-site facilities for additional requirements,” said Dr Cooper.

Coopers’ portfolio was expanded during the year with the limited releases of Hazy IPA and Australian IPA, while the relaunch of Pacific Pale Ale appealed to fans of summer-style beer. Strong demand for Coopers high quality malt, particularly from new and existing international customers across Asia, has the plant operating at near capacity.

Homebrewers remained active globally, pushing export sales of DIY beer up by 31 per cent while domestic sales moderated after the strong sales last year.

Fully franked dividends of $13.50 per share were paid in the financial year. A share buyback has also recently been announced, accessible to all of Coopers more than 170 shareholders at a price of $425 per share.

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