Sipsmith: Sales at gin maker fall for fifth year in a row
Sales at gin maker Sipsmith have fallen for a fifth year in a row as it continues in the red.
The London-based brand has reported a turnover of £14.2m for 2023 and a pre-tax loss of £17.2m, according to newly-filed accounts with Companies House.
The new totals come after Sipsmith posted a turnover of £18.2m and a pre-tax loss of £13.1m in 2022.
The last time the firm reported a pre-tax profit was the £753,000 it achieved in 2017.
The following year was also the last time Sipsmith increased its turnover, from £17.8m in 2017 to £22.7m in 2018.
Since then its sales have dropped to £22.3m in 2019, £21.7m in 2020 and £20.3m in 2021.
Also, since Sipsmith last made a pre-tax profit it has racked up a total pre-tax loss of more than £60m.
In 2023, the company’s UK turnover fell from £15.3m to £12.1m and from £893,000 to £514,000 in Europe.
Its USA turnover nudged up from £1m to £1.1m but its sales in the rest of the world were cut from £982,000 to £438,000.
Sipsmith to only focus on making gin
Sipsmith is owned by New York-headquartered Suntory Global Spirits whose brands also include the likes of Jim Beam.
A statement signed off by the board said: “The company continues to incur a loss as a result of ongoing investment in the brand in the UK and leveraging the company’s position within Suntory Global Spirits.”
After the end of its financial year, the group decided that Sipsmith Limited would no longer manage the route to market and related commercial and marketing activities for the UK from February 2025. However, it will continue to produce gin.
The results come after Morning Wire reported that sales at the maker of the likes of Glenfiddich and Hendricks Gin surged to almost £2bn as its profit passed the £500m mark during 2023.