Sales and membership growth drives momentum, new CEO appointment

Sustained growth in both sales revenue and membership numbers drove overall momentum for the Artisanal Spirits Company (ASC) in FY2022. The company is well placed to deliver results in line with expectations and achieve further growth in FY2023, under the new leadership of Andrew Dane as CEO, announced today. Sales revenue for the year ended 31st December 2022 increased by approximately 20% from £18.2m in FY2021 and is expected to be slightly ahead of our £21.6m forecast when the full audited n

YE update – small beat; Board evolution

Todays ahead of expectations YE update caps off another year of strategic, operational and financial delivery. Revenue is 2% ahead of our forecast resulting in 20% y/y growth, membership is up 12% and retention maintained at a high 77%. The other main news today is the departure of the MD, David Ridley. However, he leaves Artisanal in a strong position and we view the appointment of Andrew Dane (current FD) as his successor positively. He has an excellent grasp of the business and we back him to

Double positive news

Further positive news today. Firstly, the banking facility has been extended on improved terms. With c.£8.0m of liquidity headroom to support future growth/investment this should allay any funding concerns going into 2023. Secondly, the global footprint has been further expanded with a new partnership agreement signed for Malaysia - the 12th largest addressable market. We make no forecast changes but feel todays news should be well received and further reflect favourably on managements ability t

New supply chain facility progressing as planned

The Artisanal Spirits Company (ASC) continues to execute its plans to take advantage of the sizeable and fast-growing global premium whisky market, as detailed to investors at the time of its IPO in 2021. ASC has announced today that good progress continues to be made in relation to the Group’s new multi-purpose supply chain facility at Masterton Bond, near Glasgow. Masterton represents an important focal point of business expansion and efficiency improvement for the group and the steady prog

Further positive strategic news

A positive RNS reach this morning providing a reassuring update on Masterton Bond – the new in-house warehouse and supply chain facility. This is progressing to schedule and on budget. A c.2% operating margin uplift is anticipated from the investment with gains expected early in FY23. We make no forecast changes and maintain high conviction around FY22 being another year of strong execution and delivery against expectations. Despite not putting a foot wrong since IPO, the shares are oversold - b

Hybridan Small Cap Feast 19/10/22

Dish of the day Joiners: No joiners today. Leavers: No leavers today. What’s cooking in the IPO kitchen?** Ithaca Energy, a UK independent exploration and production company focused on the UK North Sea, intends to join the Premium Segment of the Main Market. Ithaca Energy is one of the largest independent oil and gas companies in the UKCS, ranking 2nd by resources and 3rd by production. During the six months ended 30 June 2022, Ithaca Energy's average daily production (oil and gas) on a net work

More positive news – a new franchise territory

An RNS reach from Artisanal today announcing a new franchise agreement in South Korea. Whilst not material this is strategically positive given South Korea is the 10th largest market within the ultra-premium Scotch Malt Whisky sector and as such, one of last few big territories in which ASC did not have a presence. We make no forecast changes and maintain high conviction around FY22 being another year of good execution and delivery against expectations. Shares trade on an EV/sales of 3x vs the G

Hybridan Small Cap Feast 14/09/22

Dish of the day Joiners: No joiners today. Leavers: Meggitt Plc has left the Main Market. What’s cooking in the IPO kitchen?** Fintech Asia, an investment company established to acquire businesses in the Fintech sector, primarily targeting the Asia-Pacific region, intends to join the Standard Segment of the Main Market. The Company has raised £1.455m through the placing of 3,010,000 ordinary shares of no par value, with net proceeds of £841,845. Expected 15 September. Ikigai Ventures, an investm

Successfully following a clear route to growth

The Artisanal Spirits Company (ASC) continues to deliver on its strategy to take advantage of the sizable and fast growing global premium whisky market. Interim results released today reconfirmed robust growth in both revenue and membership in the first half of FY2022, and trading so far in the second half also appears strong. As a result, we maintain our confidence in close to 20% sales growth this financial year and reiterate our 150p fair value for the shares. Membership numbers grew in all

Excellent interims; another step to doubling sales by 2024

Very good interims today, highlighting how well ASC is performing. Revenue growth of 25% and 24% additional members is an excellent showing in the current climate. We particularly like member LTV +21% to £1,774, led by higher retention. Outlook commentary is positive with good momentum continuing into Q3. Overall, the broad tenor reinforces ASC’s resilient/inflation hedge features, how it is benefitting from the world reopening and the defensive growth attributes of premium whisky. Hallmarks whi

Interims preview; reinforcing attractions

Forthcoming interims are expected to be strong, further validating the strength of the model - revenue and membership growth >20%. We use this note to highlight Artisanal’s resilient/inflation hedge features, how it is benefitting from the world reopening and, importantly, the defensive growth attributes of its core premium whisky offering. The shares are oversold, having been unfairly caught up in the sell-off of consumer stocks and lockdown boosted e-commerce models. This incorrectly positions

Hybridan Small Cap Feast 20-07-2022

Dish of the day Joiners: No joiners today. Leavers: The Russian gold miner Petropavlovsk Plc Ord has left the London Stock Exchange. What’s cooking in the IPO kitchen? Unigel Group, intends to join the Aquis Growth Market. Unigel Group is a pioneer in the field of thixotropic gels for the fibre optic cable industry. The Company is also a leading supplier of laminated steel tapes to the fibre optic cable industry in the US. Thixotropic gels and laminated steel tapes are essential components to th

Premium positioning underpins growth

Strong 25% sales growth, a further 24% advance in membership numbers and important progress at the Masterton Bond facility were key features of a trading update released by The Artisanal Spirits Company (ASC) today.  Furthermore, the company reiterated its ambition to double sales revenue between FY2020 and FY2024. With a focus on the ultra-premium category, a fast-growing global membership base and embedded value in its maturing whisky stocks - £430m at retail - we continue to argue that fair v

Excellent H1 update; executing to plan

Artisanal’s H1 trading update reads very well. Revenue growth is reported at c.25% vs our full year working assumption of 18%. Membership growth has also remained healthy, equating to 14% on an annualised basis and suggesting consumers at the ultra-premium end are continuing discretionary expenditure. Operational commentary is positive as are reassurances around no meaningful supply/stock availability issues. With no change to full year expectations we maintain our forecasts but see the risk on

SHORE CAPITAL - Sainsbury (J)+ (SBRY) - House Stock at 239p

SHORE CAPTIAL - Sainsbury (J)+ (SBRY, House Stock at 267p)

FLASH: A year of strong financial and operational progress

Shopping Trolley - finnCap Consumer quarterly sector note

Fulham Shore’s Franco Manca value-for-money brand is perfect for current market conditions in our view, despite pizza being a crowded segment. Pizza travels well, allowing the business to flex to delivery and take-out according to market conditions. The combination of high gross margins, net cash on the balance sheet and excellent FCF generation should allow it to cope with tougher market conditions AND still protect its expansion capex plans to increase EBITDA by +55% over the next three years.

Forecast affirmation as Travel achieves seasonal expectation

Overall WH Smith has confirmed that it expects to achieve market consensus profit estimates for the year to August 2019. While trade numbers are not provided (as last year) this would be improbable without a successful Summer Travel “season” led by airport business. The High Street business which we believe only amounts to less than 20% of overall valuation is of low relevance in this part of the year.

Acquisition of WestCountry Food Holdings