Bottoms up: Vodka maker Stock Spirits plans special dividend as lockdown home drinkers boost profit
Vodka maker Stock Spirits today posted a higher annual core profit and proposed a special dividend for investors.
It said profits rose in 2020 as people staying at home during the Covid-19 pandemic drove demand, while summer staycations also drove sales.
Shares are up more than eight per cent on the announcement.
The maker of 1906 and Vodka No.1 said adjusted ebitda rose to €71m for the year to 30 September.
That’s up from €67m in 2019.
Stock Spirits saw strong volume growth in both Poland and the Czech Republic, which account for three-quarters of the company’s revenue.
As with the rest of Europe, people there stocked up alcohol during lockdowns.
Cocktail bar sales hit
However, sales of alcoholic beverages to bars and restaurants have been hit due to virus curbs, with the world’s largest spirits makers Diageo and Pernod Ricard warning of a sales hit a few months back.
Stock Spirits proposed a final dividend for the year of 6.78 cents per share with a special dividend of 11 cents, bringing the total dividend for the year to 20.55 cents per share, 130 per cent higher from a year earlier.
“Our portfolio of brands performed strongly, boosted by consumers opting to buy familiar and trusted local brands during times of uncertainty, as well as by the trend towards staycations in our markets,” boss Mirek Stachowicz said.
Stock Spirits, which has over 45 brands, exports to more than 50 countries worldwide.
It is the second-biggest vodka firm in Poland with a 29.7 per cent market share.