UK brewer Adnams has reported a 5.5% rise in profits despite tough conditions in the industry.
The Suffolk-based brewer, hotelier and wine merchant Adnams recorded a 5% increase in sales of its own beer.
This, combined with good progress in their tenanted pub estate, has increased the company’s operating profits from £812,000 to £857,000.
These figures fly in the face of industry statistics that show cask ale as a whole dropped by 2% during the first of half of this year.
Chairman Jonathan Adnams labelled the Government’s policies on beer duty and the duty escalator (tax increases at a rate 2% above inflation) as ‘misguided’ and damaging to youth unemployment levels.
He said: “Pubs are important employers and this policy has also imposed a cost on many of our unemployed younger generation who are being denied the jobs that they might otherwise have had in the hospitality industry.”
This year’s success has been attributed to a combination of factors. The launch of a new ale called Ghost Ship has helped to drive sales upwards.
Sole Star and Adnams Ginger Beer, both under 2.8% alcohol, qualified for a new 50% duty reduction enabling the company to hold pub prices for the fourth year in a row.
Adnams won the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise: Sustainable Development earlier this year.
