Whisky curator Artisanal Spirits Company has cut its pre-tax losses and posted full year EBITDA growth that was slightly above expectations.

The owner of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, Single Cask Nation & J.G. Thomson said the new financial year had begun with double-digit revenue growth in the first quarter over the final three months of last year.

Revenue growth in the year to the end of December was led by bottle sales in Europe, supported by further success of the new Creators Collection range, as well as early success on delivering against full year cask sales targets. 

The group delivered EBITDA of £1.1m, a record performance and said it is confident of meeting its strategic and financial goals. SMWS membership grew 4%.

Revenue edged up 0.4% to £23.6m (2023: £23.5m). The loss before tax fell to £3.1m (2023: £3.6m) as growth was offset partially by increased interest costs.

Net debt fell by £1.5m, resulting in a year end net debt of £25.5m, (Jun-24: £27.0m, Dec 23: £22.6m)

Andrew Dane, CEO, said: “We have delivered profitable growth, helped by our successful acquisition of US based Single Cask Nation in January 2024 and the additional investment in our SMWS USA operations completed in January 2025 also further augments the exciting opportunity for ASC to deliver profitable growth in this key market.

“We continue to have an outstanding asset backing, with the current cask inventory value of just over £100m representing around 4x both NBV and Net Debt.

“We have now made the important transition of only acquiring stock on a replenishment basis, and this continues to increase the positive future cash profile of the business which is encouraging.

“Overall, we exit FY24 with a good set of results behind us, with a positive start to Q1-25 meaning that we are on track to deliver further profitable growth and cash generation in FY25 and beyond.”

Speaking to Daily Business, Mr Dane said the threat of US tariffs was “something we’re all talking about”, adding that “we can manage it”. There remained “substantial opportunities” for the company in the US.

China had seen “continued revenue decline” but membership there had grown. “We are starting to see conditions bottoming out in China,” he said.

Costs were beginning to come under control and on M&A he said the company remained alert to any opportunities that would complement its plans for growth.

“There is no requirement for us to do anything [acquisition],” he said.

Market reaction

Wayne Brown at Panmure Liberum says: “Artisanal has delivered strong progress in FY’24 with adjusted EBITDA improving to £1.1, slightly ahead of expectations.

“2024 reflected the strength of the group’s well-diversified revenue base, with sales growing 0.4% yoy in a tough market for the spirits category, in particular in China and the US.

“The outlook for FY’25E and FY’26E is for a return to strong sales growth, further profitability improvements and a pivot to self-funded growth due to the transition from investments in stock to a replenishment approach.

“The group has stripped c.£1.5m of costs out the business, which should lead to stronger drop through margins as growth is delivered.

“As the group promised, net debt began to decline in 2H’24, down £1.5m, and we expect further reductions from here as the group transitions towards free cash flow generation, which should drive a transfer of value to equity.

“For all these reasons alongside significant asset-backing, these shares look way too cheap.”