More jobs lost at Dead Man’s Fingers maker as sales fall
More jobs have been lost at the company behind Crabbie’s Ginger Beer and Dead Man’s Fingers spiced rum as sales fell and it remained in the red.
Halewood Artisanal Spirts, whose brands also include Whitley Neill Gin, Liverpool Gin and Samuel Gelton’s Irish whiskey, cut its headcount from 472 to 390 in the 12 months to 29 June, 2024, new accounts filed with Companies House show.
That reduction comes after the business employed just over 1,000 people at the end of its year to 7 July, 2022.
Part of that fall was due to a move to shed its South African and Russian operations.
The new results have also revealed that Halewood Artisanal Spirts’ turnover declined from £162.4m to £127.8m during its latest financial year compared to the prior 12 months.
Its pre-tax loss also fell slightly from £23.7m to £23.2m.
The business said £5m of its turnover decline related to it moving focus away from “low margin non-core activities” in the UK.
The remaining £14m fall was due to reductions in the sales of vodka and Crabbies.
Dead Man’s Fingers makes eyes return to profit
A statement signed off by the board said: “Strategically, given the macro headwinds impacting UK plc and the knock-on effect on consumer spend items, including premium spirits, the focus has continued to be upon restructuring the business to meet the challenges, reflected in inter-company write offs, a reduction in operating losses and adjusted EBITA [earnings before interest, tax and amortisation expenses], as the business takes a revised shape to return it to profitability.
“The UK economy was impacted by high inflation rates on raw materials, wages and freight charges.
“Vodka and other low margin brands suffered due to the company’s inability to increase prices until after the Christmas 2023 period to partially mitigate net margins.
“The group reacted to inflationary pressures by a material reduction in headcount and further scaling back international expansion projects.
“Net revenues from core brands declined by less than the market, with flavoured gins particularly sensitive to changes in consumer patterns mitigated by the introduction of new variants including Oritental Spiced gin.
“UK and global travel retail channels remained stable. However, exports declined after [the] closure of international subsidiaries.