Corby Spirit and Wine Limited Reports Its Fiscal 2025 Third Quarter Results for the Period Ended March 31, 2025, and Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.23 per Share

TORONTO, May 14, 2025 /CNW/ - Corby Spirit and Wine Limited ("Corby" or the "Company") (TSX: CSW.A) (TSX: CSW.B), a leading Canadian manufacturer, marketer and importer of spirits, wines and ready-to-drink cocktails ("RTDs"), today announced its financial results for the fiscal third quarter ("Q3") and the nine-month period ended March 31, 2025 ("FYTD March").

Q3 Revenue of $48.0 million (-1% year-over-year) and Organic Revenue¹ -9%, reflecting the normalization of Q3 sales relative to a high base of comparison last year and impacted by de-stocking patterns at the Ontario liquor board

FYTD March Revenue at $174.8 million (+7%) and flat Organic Revenue¹, demonstrating continued spirits share gains and traction from the buoyant RTD portfolio, despite a challenging market environment and softer underlying consumer trends

Q3 Adjusted EBITDA¹ at $11.7 million (-10%)
FYTD March Adjusted EBITDA¹ at $48.4 million (+4%)

Q3 Adjusted Net Earnings¹ at $4.5 million (-20%) (Reported -6%)
FYTD March Adjusted Net Earnings¹ at $23.2 million (+1%) (Reported +11%)

Solid Balance Sheet and strong Cash Flow generation in FYTD March
Quarterly Dividend declared of $0.23 per share

FINANCIAL RESULTS

Q3 FY25 results: Revenue for the third quarter of fiscal 2025, typically Corby's lowest quarter in terms of revenue, saw a normalization of its domestic and export sales compared to very strong third quarter results last year (Revenue growth of 50% for the three-month period ended March 31, 2024 including ABG brands, and growth of 18% excluding ABG versus the comparable period in fiscal 2023). Corby's domestic sales were further impacted by inventory level reduction by the Liquor Control Board of Ontario ("LCBO") in this third quarter of fiscal 2025 versus the prior quarter, along with soft underlying consumer trends.

Q3 FY25 Revenue was $48.0 million, declining $0.4 million or 1% compared to the same period last year with the inclusion of the Nude brands. Organic revenue¹ was $44.1 million during the quarter, reflecting a decline of $4.4 million or 9% compared to the prior year. Marketing, sales and administrative expenses increased $0.3 million, or 2% to $17.0 million, reflecting new marketing activities and the addition of overhead related to the acquisition of Nude brands.

Reflecting the factors noted above, Reported net earnings¹ for Q3 FY25 were $4.0 million, a decline of 6% year-over-year, and Adjusted EBITDA¹ of $11.7 million declined by 10% versus the same period last year.

FYTD March 2025 results: Revenue for the first nine months of fiscal 2025 was $174.8 million, increasing by $11.6 million or 7% versus the same period last year, largely attributed to the inclusion of Nude brands' revenue of $11.9 million. Organic revenue¹ reached $162.9 million, broadly flat compared to the prior year period and demonstrating resilience in a challenging market environment, driven by:

• Domestic case goods revenue of $125.9 million, declining 2% in a softer spirits market, and adversely impacted by the LCBO, port and rail labour strikes during the first half of fiscal 2025, partially offset by a dynamic RTD portfolio tapping into the grocery and convenience store retail modernization opportunity in Ontario;
• Commissions sales reached $22.9 million, reflecting growth of 17%, led by imported RTD and wines capitalizing on the RTM modernization in Ontario; and
• Export revenue of $11.2 million, a decline of 12% year-over-year, lapping the pipeline fill to new markets last year, despite a rebound in J.P. Wiser's performance in the US.

Marketing, sales and administrative expenses increased by $2.2 million, or 4% to $53.4 million in FYTD March, reflecting the inclusion of marketing investments and overheads related to the acquisition of Nude brands. Domestic investments lapped sponsorship and media campaign events from last year, while Corby invested further to support strategic brands J.P. Wiser's, through a new NHL multi-year partnership and Polar Ice vodka to sustain its strong commercial momentum. An ongoing focus on operational efficiency led to overall expenses increasing at a slower rate than revenue.

Adjusted EBITDA¹ totaled $48.4 million in FYTD March, increasing by 4% versus the same period last year. Corby delivered reported net earnings of $21.2 million and adjusted net earnings¹ of $23.2 million in FYTD March, increasing by 11% and 1% year-over-year, respectively. Reported net earnings included $0.4 million of costs related to Nude inventory adjusted to its fair value in the first quarter of fiscal 2025 and $2.2 million of costs related to ABG inventory adjusted to its fair value in the first half of fiscal 2024, both net of taxes.

The Company generated robust cash flow during FYTD March, with Cash Flow from Operating Activities of $29.2 million, an increase of $14.6 million year-over-year. Corby closed FYTD March with a healthy balance sheet and significant financial flexibility, with its Net Debt / Adjusted EBITDA¹ ratio (on a rolling 12-month basis) at 1.6x at quarter-end. Corby delivered a dividend payout ratio¹ of 54% as of quarter-end (on a rolling 12-month basis), highlighting the sustainability of the Company's quarterly dividend.

Corby's President and Chief Executive Officer, Nicolas Krantz, stated,

"Corby continues to execute on its strategic roadmap, supporting solid overall performance and strong cash flow in the year-to-date period, while demonstrating the resilience of our business in a volatile environment. Our continued market share gains in the Canadian spirits market and the strong momentum of our RTD brands highlight the strength of our portfolio and the unwavering commitment of our teams.

While our performance in the third quarter was impacted by an unfavorable comparative basis and liquor board de-stocking, we remain confident in our ability to capitalize on new opportunities in the coming quarters and to deliver value to our shareholders this financial year.

Our diverse portfolio of leading brands, paired with our industry-leading innovation and market capabilities, offer a resilient and attractive foundation for continued growth moving forward. With a balanced and prudent approach to capital allocation and a clear strategic roadmap to drive incremental long-term value, we look forward to continuing to execute on the opportunities ahead". 

For further details, please refer to Corby's Management's Discussion and Analysis and interim condensed consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes for the three-month and nine-month periods ended March 31, 2025, prepared in accordance with IFRS Accounting Standards, available on www.sedarplus.ca and www.corby.ca/investors. 

MARKET TRENDS

The overall spirits market declined 3.6% in value in the last rolling 12 months period, notably impacted by the LCBO labour strike in July 2024 and Ontario RTM modernization for the RTD and wine categories. The RTD category was also impacted by the summer LCBO strike during the first quarter of fiscal 2025 but benefitted from the RTM modernization in Ontario over the second and third quarters, and remained one of the fastest growing categories overall in the last twelve months, increasing by 6.3% in value.

Corby has been outperforming the Canadian spirits market in value for more than two years, gaining share in most categories over this timeframe. Over the past twelve months, Corby spirits were resilient at -1.9% year-over-year and Corby RTDs (excl. Nude) were dynamic at +9.1% year-over-year, both outpacing the market in value growth. This outperformance reflects the strength of Corby's comprehensive portfolio of brands along with successful new product launches and execution excellence.

Furthermore, Corby is monitoring potential regulatory changes to import tariffs between Canada and the United States. Canadian goods compliant with CUSMA continue to benefit from exemption from the 10% baseline tariff, including our exports to the US. The company is also diversifying supply chains to help ensure product availability, in addition to increasing promotion of Canadian and international products to seize new opportunities and mitigate risks effectively.

REPRESENTATION AGREEMENT UPDATE

On July 17, 2024, Pernod Ricard announced the sale of its international strategic wine brands to Australian Wine Holdco Limited, which closed effective April 30, 2025. The transaction includes the sale of a wide portfolio of international wine brands owned and produced by Pernod Ricard Winemakers from three origins including Jacob's Creek® from Australia; Stoneleigh®, Brancott Estate® from New Zealand; and Campo Viejo® from Spain. As a result of this transaction, Corby will continue to represent these brands in Canada during a transition period until August 31, 2025 under the same terms of the Pernod Ricard Representation agreement. Corby is in active discussions with the new owner to continue the representation and distribution of the acquired wine brands in Canada beyond the end of the transition period.

QUARTERLY DIVIDEND

The Corby Board of Directors is pleased to declare a dividend of $0.23 per Voting Class A Common Share and Non-Voting Class B Common Share of the Company, consistent with the amount of the last dividend payment. This dividend is payable on June 11, 2025 to shareholders of record as at the close of business on May 28, 2025.

QUARTERLY CONFERENCE CALL

Corby management will host a conference call on Thursday, May 15^th, 2025, at 9:00 a.m. (EST) to review and discuss the financial and operational results for the Q3 and FYTD March periods. Corby welcomes stakeholders, investors, and other individual followers to access the conference call by dialing 437-900-0527 or toll free 1-888-510-2154 before the start of the call, or by joining via webcast at https://app.webinar.net/aGWRp1ZB46w. Following the conclusion of the call, a playback of the conference call will be available for 30 days by calling 289-819-1450 or 1-888-660-6345 and entering passcode 61323 #.

1)  NON-IFRS FINANCIAL MEASURES & RATIOS

In addition to using financial measures prescribed under IFRS, references are made in this news release to "Adjusted Earnings from Operations", "Adjusted Net Earnings", "Adjusted Basic Earnings per Share", "Adjusted Diluted Earnings per Share", "Total Debt", "Net Debt", "Organic Revenue" and "Adjusted EBITDA" which are non-IFRS financial measures. Non-IFRS financial measures and ratios do not have any standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers.

Management believes the non-IFRS measures included in this news release are important supplemental measures of operating performance and highlight trends in the core business that may not otherwise be apparent when relying solely on IFRS financial measures.

Management believes that these measures allow for assessment of the Company's operating performance and financial condition on a basis that is more consistent and comparable between reporting periods.

Adjusted Earnings from Operations is equal to earnings from operations before interest and taxes for the period adjusted to remove the costs incurred for business combination inventory fair value adjustments.

Adjusted EBITDA refers to Adjusted Earnings from Operations adjusted to remove amortization and depreciation disclosed in Corby's financial statements.

Adjusted Net Earnings is equal to net earnings for the period adjusted to remove the costs incurred for business combination inventory fair value adjustments and the notional interest charges related to NCI obligation, net of tax calculated using the effective tax rate.

Adjusted Basic Net Earnings Per Share is computed in the same way as basic net earnings per share and diluted net earnings per share, respectively, using the aforementioned Adjusted Net Earnings non-IFRS financial measure in place of reported Net Earnings.

Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share is computed in the same way as basic net earnings per share and diluted net earnings per share, respectively, using the aforementioned Adjusted Net Earnings non-IFRS financial measure in place of reported Net Earnings.

The following table presents a reconciliation of Adjusted Earnings from Operations, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Net Earnings to their most directly comparable financial measures for the three-month and nine-month periods ended March 31, 2025, and 2024:

The following table presents a reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA to their most directly comparable financial measures from the three-month period ended March 31, 2025 to the three-month period ended March 31, 2023:

Organic revenue growth is measured as the difference between revenue excluding case goods revenue from acquired or disposed brands compared to revenue in the preceding fiscal period during which the acquisition or disposal had not yet occurred.

The following table presents a reconciliation of total organic revenue and organic case goods revenue to their most directly comparable financial measures for the three-month and nine-month periods ended March 31, 2025, and 2024:

Total Debt refers to debt of the Company, which includes bank indebtedness and credit facilities payable, lease liabilities and long-term debt.

Net Debt refers to the cash and deposits in cash management pools of the Company, less bank indebtedness and credit facilities payable and long-term debt.

The following table presents a reconciliation of total debt and net debt to their most directly comparable financial measures as at March 31, 2025 and 2024:

Dividend Payout Ratio refers to annualized dividends paid divided by Cash Flow from Operating Activities.

Please refer to the "Non-IFRS Financial Measures" & "Non-IFRS Financial Ratios" section of our MD&A for the three-month and nine-month periods ended March 31, 2025 as filed on SEDAR+ for further information regarding Non-IFRS measures.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements concerning possible or assumed future results of Corby's operations. Forward-looking statements typically are preceded by, followed by or include the words "believes", "expects", "anticipates", "estimates", "intends", "plans" or similar expressions. These statements are being provided for the purposes of providing information about management's current expectations and plans and allowing investors and others to get a better understanding of our anticipated financial position, results of operations and operating environment. Readers are cautioned that such information may not be appropriate for other purposes and are not guarantees of future performance. Although Corby believes that the forward-looking information in this press release is based on information, assumptions and beliefs which are current, reasonable and complete, this information is necessarily subject to a number of factors, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from management's expectations and plans as set forth in such forward-looking information. For more information on the risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause Corby's actual results to differ from current expectations, refer to the Risks and Risk Management section of our Management's Discussion and Analysis for the three-month and nine-month periods ended March 31, 2025 as well as Corby's other public filings, available at www.sedarplus.com and at https://corby.ca/en/investors/. Corby does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by it or on its behalf, to reflect new information, future events or otherwise, except as is required by applicable securities laws. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. All financial results are reported in Canadian dollars.

About Corby Spirit and Wine Limited

Corby Spirit and Wine Limited is a leading Canadian manufacturer, marketer and distributor of spirits and imported wines, and ready-to-drink beverages. Corby's portfolio of owned-brands includes some of the most renowned brands in Canada, including J.P. Wiser's®, Lot 40®, and Pike Creek® Canadian whiskies, Lamb's® rum, Polar Ice® vodka and McGuinness® liqueurs, as well as the Ungava® gin, Cabot Trail® maple-based liqueurs and Chic Choc® spiced rum, Cottage Springs® and Nude® ready-to-drink beverages and Foreign Affair® wines. Through its affiliation with Pernod Ricard S.A., a global leader in the spirits and wine industry, Corby also represents leading international brands such as Absolut® vodka, Chivas Regal®, The Glenlivet® and Ballantine's® Scotch whiskies, Jameson® Irish whiskey, Beefeater® gin, Malibu® rum, Olmeca Altos® and Código 1530® tequilas, Jefferson's™ and Rabbit Hole® bourbons, Kahlúa ® liqueur, and Mumm® champagne., Corby also represents Jacob's Creek®, Stoneleigh® and Campo Viejo® wines. Corby is a publicly traded company based in Toronto, Ontario, and is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the trading symbols CSW.A and CSW.B. For further information, please visit our website or follow us on LinkedIn.

www.Corby.ca

SOURCE Corby Spirit and Wine Limited